


In Another Life

by Lulu50000



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Child Abuse, Extremely slow build, F/F, F/M, Future Questionable Relationships, Grey Harry, Horcruxes, M/M, Manipulative Dumbledore, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Possibly Dark Harry, Powerful Harry, Rating May Change, Slow Build, War Time Mentality, Weasley Bashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-29
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-02-23 04:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 20
Words: 89,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2533361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lulu50000/pseuds/Lulu50000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry was born to incredibly magically powerful parents, so why is it that his own magical power is just a little over average? What if Harry was meant to be even more extraordinary than them? What if the Horcrux inside of him was inhibiting his magic, and his magical development throughout his years at Hogwarts, so that even when it was finally destroyed, the damage was already done? In another life, where the Dursley’s abuse went far beyond mental and emotional, what happens when a “routine beating” goes wrong? So very, very wrong…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Highly Unusual Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of child neglect and abuse as well as rather graphic physical child abuse.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _"This is Harry talking for his 'toys'" This is thoughts. $This is speaking in Parseltongue.$ ___

Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways.  Of these many ways, there were four in particular that stood out among the rest.  One of these ways could be easily seen if one were to look at where the boy slept.  Most ten year old boys slept in warm, comfortable beds in bedrooms painted blue or green or red, littered about with little toys and boyish knickknacks.  While Harry Potter slept on a thin, dirty mattress with a single ripped and dirty sheet for warmth, the only toys being a few rocks and sticks which he kept hidden under said mattress (making it even more uncomfortable than it already was) so they wouldn’t be taken.  This mattress was located in a small cupboard underneath a flight of stairs.

Another way in which Harry Potter was highly unusual, was the amount of chores he had to do each day, and what would happen to him if said chores were not done.  While most ten year old boys only had one or two chores a day, such as cleaning their rooms or feeding the cat, Harry Potter was responsible for all the work done around the house.  Each and every day the little boy had to wake up bright and early to sweep and scrub every surface in the house, doing every single chore there was to be done every single day.  If there was a single thing out of place, or a single smudge on anything or a single stain left in their clothes, or even if one of the meals that the little boy cooked for his family was even slightly to their disliking, then Harry was likely to get a beating from his uncle when he got home from work, before being locked back up in his cupboard for the night.

The third way that ten year old Harry was highly unusual was that he was a wizard.  Unbeknownst to the small boy, there was a whole other world hidden just underneath the surface of the one he knows.  This is a world filled with wonder and magic such that the non-magical could never even  _dream_  of.  Harry belonged in this world, not the muggle world in which he currently resided; a small part of Harry even knew that he didn’t belong there.  He certainly didn’t feel very welcome there.  He was beaten and abused by the only family that he had, he had no friends and anyone he was even close to becoming friends with would be beaten up by his cousin Dudley and his gang.  Harry never dared to make any friends, not wishing for them to be hurt because of him.

The last way in which Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy, was that he was a Horcrux.  A very powerful Dark wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort attempted, and seemingly succeeded in something that most consider to be nearly impossible; becoming immortal.  In order to achieve this feat, Lord Voldemort created many Horcruxes.  A Horcrux was a piece of one’s own soul that is ripped off and stored in some form of container, a truly horrid form of magic.  This enables for the creator to continue to remain on earth even after their body has died, as there are other parts of his or her soul still alive on the earth.  So when Lord Voldemort went to the Potter’s house to eliminate Harry, who he believed to be a threat to him based on the words of half a prophecy, his soul was so very damaged and broken that when his spell rebounded onto himself, his body didn’t just die.  A piece of his soul was broken off and it embedded itself into the only living thing left in that room, one year old Harry Potter…

*

Harry Potter hadn’t been able to sleep at all, all night, his back hurt too much from a particularly bad beating the day before and even touching it felt like stabbing himself with a hot poker, never mind laying on it.  Instead, he had spent the night day dreaming and playing with the rocks and sticks which he kept underneath his mattress.  When Harry was alone in his cupboard, he could pretend that his life was different.  He could pretend he was just a normal boy with parents who loved him and friends that liked him and played with him, and maybe even siblings.

Harry pretended that the rocks (which he had drawn faces on) and the sticks (which he had pulled apart a little to create arms and legs) were his friends and family.

“Hey Dad, could me and my friends go out to play?” Harry said to his rock-dad.

“ _I don’t know son, you’ll have to ask your mother.”_ He had his rock-dad reply, _“She’s cooking dinner tonight._ ” Then Harry turned to his stick-mum.

“Mum, Dad said to ask you if I could go out with my friends.  Can I?” He had his stick mum make a contemplative sound before she replied,

“ _Alright, as long as you’re home for dinner._”

“Thanks.” Harry said to his stick mum.

“ _Can I come too Harry?_” asked Violet, his younger stick-sister.

“ _Leave Harry alone Violet,_ ” Harry’s older rock-brother John told her, “ _He’s going out with his friends; he doesn’t need you tagging along too._ ” Harry laughed.

“Bye.” He told them as he put them down and picked up his rock and stick friends. “Hey guys.” He said to them.

“ _Hey Harry!_ ” they replied. 

Harry stopped playing for a moment and smiled sadly.  No one in real life would ever be that happy to see him…  His real mum and dad were dead, having died in a car crash when he was one, the same crash that had given him the lightning shaped scar on is forehead.  He had no siblings, only a cousin that hated him.  He had no real friends, his only friends were a bunch of rocks with drawn on faces and broken sticks with arms and legs.  He was alone.  Nobody wanted him.  Nobody cared about him.  Nobody loved him and it would always stay that way.  Harry was a freak; a nasty little freak that nobody liked because weird stuff always happened around him.

Harry tried to blink away the tears in his eyes, only for them to fall down his face.  He wiped them away and was about to go back to playing when there was rapping on his cupboard door and a shrill voice saying,

“Up!  Get up!  Now!” Harry sighed.  As quickly as he could with his injured back, he got dressed and went into the kitchen to make breakfast.  It was Dudley’s birthday, and he knew that if he messed up the breakfast even a little bit then the belting he’d gotten yesterday wouldn’t even compare to what he would receive.  When Dudley came into the kitchen the first thing he did was punch Harry square in the back.  He almost fell to the ground in pain, but he held onto the oven handle and bit the inside of his cheek until it bled so he wouldn’t make any noise.  His eyes watered and he wanted to scream. 

The pain slowly began to fade away, throbbing as it left, as he continued to try and focus on the bacon and eggs that he was cooking.  His back still hurt, but Dudley’s punch was beginning not to.  Dudley was complaining about not getting as many presents as he had last year, even though he had almost forty of them.  Harry had never gotten so much as a sock for his birthday, not like he expected it though.  His birthday was just another day for him.

Dudley and his friend Piers Polkiss would be going to the zoo for Dudley’s birthday.  Harry was supposed to be left with Mrs. Figg, their mad old cat-loving neighbour, but she had broken her leg.  So after some argument between his aunt and uncle, it was decided that he would come with them to the zoo.  Harry had never been to the zoo before, but he found that he quite liked it.  The animals were all very interesting, his aunt and uncle had reluctantly gotten him a cheap lemon ice pop to keep up appearances when the smiling lady in the van had asked him what he wanted before they could manage to drag him away.  He had even gotten to eat the rest of Dudley’s Knickerbocker glory when he complained that it wasn’t big enough so they had to get him a new one.  Dudley and Piers were even too busy looking at the animals to try to hurt him at all.  It was by far, the best day of his life…

Harry should have known that it was far too good to last…  Harry watched a little off to the side as his cousin ordered his uncle to rap on the glass tank of the largest snake in the reptile house.  When the snake refused to move, they went away.  Harry walked up to it and looked in.  It was all alone in there; no company at all except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day.  It couldn’t leave and it had no one to talk to.  Harry felt sad for the poor snake.

 _$You must be lonely in there ,$_ Harry said to the snake, not realising that his voice had become a series of hisses to any humans listening.   _$Having no one to talk to and being stared at all day. $_ The snake looked at him for a moment and then said,

 _$It is not so bad.  I’m used to it. $_ Harry blinked in shock, he hadn’t expected the snake to respond.  As far as he knew, snakes couldn’t talk.  Animals in general couldn’t talk, yet a snake had just spoken to him.  Harry decided to let that fact go for now.

 _$Have you always been here?$_ Harry asked the snake.

 _$Yes ,$_ she replied; she sounded like a she at least,  _$I was born here, yet I have always wished to visit Brazil.  It is where I come from, though I have never been.  I wonder if I have any family there... $ _the snake mused.  Harry smiled sadly at the snake; she was a lot like him, even though she was a snake.  She was trapped and had no friends or company other than stupid people who came to rap on the glass.  She had also never known her family, just like him…

 _$I wish that I could help you get there. $_ Harry told the snake sincerely, the snake was about to respond when they heard a deafening sound that made Harry flinch and the snake jump a little in surprise,

“DUDLEY!  MR. DURSLEY!  COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE!  YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT IT’S DOING!” Dudley came waddling towards them as fast as he could,

“Out of the way, you!” he said to Harry before punching him in the ribs.  It caught him by surprise, but he was able to steady himself before he fell onto the concrete floor.  After all, he was used to pain far worse than that and he didn’t want to land on his injured back.  But it had angered him, as did seeing Dudley’s pudgy face and Piers’ rat-like one pressed right up against the glass, staring at the snake he had just been talking to like a circus freak doing tricks.

It all happened so fast, Harry barely even realised it had happened.  One second Dudley and Piers were pressed right up against the glass, and the next second they had fallen over, losing their balance as the glass had suddenly just  _disappeared_.  The snake then slithered out of its tank, over Dudley and Piers and onto the floor.  Before it left the reptile house, it turned to Harry and said,

 _$Brazil here I come… thanks amigo. $ _then it slithered out of the reptile house and out of sight.  Harry could hardly breathe when he remembered what the word ‘amigo’ meant.  There was a student in Harry’s class who had moved to England from Spain, he liked to impress the other students by speaking Spanish and teaching them Spanish.  Harry never dared to join the conversations, fearing for the other students, but he had still heard some of their conversations.  ‘Amigo’ meant ‘friend’…  Harry had made a friend.  His first ever friend!  And even though he would likely never see her again, it was still such a wonderful feeling.  To feel like someone would actually consider him their friend, even if that someone was a snake.

Harry was so overcome with joy that he didn’t really pay much attention to anything that was going on around him until they were back in uncle Vernon’s car and Piers Polkiss said,

“Harry was talking to it, weren’t you Harry?” the happy feeling vanished immediately and was replaced by dread.  Why did he have to say that..?  He had been having such a wonderful day…  The day was already the best one in his life, and then he had made his first ever friend!  But now… now he would likely have the worst beating of his life.  When something strange happened around Harry, he always got the worst beatings, and Dudley and Piers were trying to say that the snake had nearly strangled each of them to death.  Something strange had happened… and Dudley was claiming he was nearly killed by it…  Harry had never been more afraid in his life…

Uncle Vernon waited until Piers had left before starting on Harry.  When Dudley’s friend was completely out of sight, he took off his belt and whipped it at Harry.  It burned and stung, but Harry stayed quiet, knowing that if he made noise it would only make his uncle madder than he already was...  Harry tried his very best to stay still and not make any noise, but he could help the flinches that involuntarily came when the blows hit.  The belt burned and cut into his skin, leaving swollen red welts and bruises in their wake, some of them even bleeding.  His neck and chest and legs and especially his back were all burning and hurting, but he still wouldn’t make a noise or move.  All he could do was hope that his uncle’s temper would die down soon and that it would be over…

“HOW  _DARE_  YOU HARM MY SON!?” his uncle roared at him as a rather nasty whip of the belt hit him on the side of the head and neck, the belt buckle having hit his head, causing blood to slowly drip down, making the welt on his neck to sting even more. “HOW  _DARE_  YOU USE YOUR FREAKISH POWERS ON HIM?!” suddenly, the belting stopped, and for a moment, Harry thought that his uncle was finished with him.  Then he felt a blinding pain in his cheek and his eyes saw stars as his uncle’s meaty fist connected with his jaw.  The force of it was so strong that Harry fell back onto the floor, he couldn’t even move, the pain in his back was so bad.  But even still, he refused to make a sound, shutting his eyes tightly and biting his cheeks till he tasted copper.

“YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!  WE GAVE YOU A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD!” He felt a sharp pain in his side as his uncle kicked him with his steel-toe boots, “WE GAVE YOU THE FOOD FROM OUR TABLE!” another sharp kick, this time to his leg.  He heard a crack before he really felt it.  The pain ran up his entire leg and then through the rest of his body.  The place where his uncle had kicked was throbbing horribly and Harry didn’t want to see what his leg looked like underneath his pants.

“WE KEPT YOU HERE WHEN WE COULD HAVE JUST SHIPPED YOU OFF TO AN ORPHANAGE!” the purple-faced man then picked Harry up and threw him through the hallway and into the kitchen.  Harry landed on one of his arms and he heard it break beneath him.  Harry acknowledged the pain, but it was just adding to the rest of it.  Harry hoped that he would pass out from blood loss soon; he was bleeding from many places after all…  When Vernon stomped into the kitchen, he picked up the first thing that he could lay his meaty hands on, which just happened to be a large frying pan.

“AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US!?!?” his uncle then swung the pan down and Harry was met with an incredibly painful ringing in his ears, he felt dizzy and he wasn’t sure if it was from the pain or the blood loss…  He really hoped that he would pass out soon.  Uncle Vernon then forcefully threw the pan down onto Harry’s chest, breaking at least two of his ribs, one of them stabbing into his lung and making it very difficult to breathe.  Harry then made the disastrous mistake of groaning, the first sound that he had made since his uncle had started his punishment.

“SHUT  _UP_  YOU LITTLE  _FREAK!!!!!_ ” Vernon then reached around until his fingers found something heavy to beat the boy with.  In his anger and rage, the large man didn’t realize that what he was holding was a large, heavy butcher’s knife.  He struck the boy in the head, the sharp point of the blade going clean through his skull and stabbing him in his brain.  The boy’s magic couldn’t work even nearly fast enough for the damage to be healed and Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the supposed Chosen One and Savior of the Wizarding World, died…


	2. The Death of Harry Potter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In another life Harry's relatives physically abuse him to try and 'beat the magic out of him', so when the incident at the zoo happens and Dudley tells his parents that the escaped snake nearly killed him and his friend Piers Polkiss tells them that he saw Harry talking to it... Well, Vernon looses his temper. Big time. He loses his temper so badly that he doesn't even realize it when he picks something up to beat Harry with, that it's a BUTCHER'S KNIFE!! Vernon hits him in the head, stabbing into his brain and Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, the supposed Chosen One and Savior of the Wizarding World died...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of child neglect, child abuse and murder.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts._

He was lying face-down, listening to the silence.  There was no pain anymore.  He was perfectly alone, no one else was there.  In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure that he was even there.  He opened his eyes, meaning, of course, that he had eyes.  He lay in bright mist, though it wasn’t like any mist he had ever seen before; his surroundings weren’t hidden by a cloudy vapour, rather the cloudy vapor had not yet become his surroundings.  The floor that he was lying on seemed to be white and neither warm nor cold, but simply there; a flat, blank something to be on.

He sat up and looked down at his body, which he then realized was naked.  He very clearly remembered his uncle beating him and breaking his bones, and yet there wasn’t a single mark on him.  And although he could very clearly remember it, it felt like it was a different life, like he was remembering something that had happened to someone else.  He touched his face and found that he wasn’t wearing any glasses.

Then he heard a noise through the unformed nothingness that surrounded him; a small soft thumping sound, from something that flapped, flailed and struggled.  It was a sad and pitiful noise, but at the same time, he felt like he was eavesdropping on something rather shameful.  Knowing that he wasn’t alone, he wished that he had clothes.  Immediately after he had thought it, something like a long white dress appeared a short distance away, he took it and pulled it on.

The dress-like clothing was soft, clean and warm.  It was the best piece of clothing that he had ever worn, not that there was much to compare it to as all Harry had ever worn was Dudley’s hand-me-downs, which fit him as well as if it were meant for a small elephant.  Harry smiled to himself.  He didn’t know where he was, and honestly, he didn’t care.  This place was nice and kind of pretty, if a little mysterious.  He had soft, warm clothing and most of all; he was far away from his uncle, aunt and cousin. 

It was a very peaceful place, the only disturbance being the thumping noise, which he tried to ignore.  Aunt Petunia always said that it was rude to eavesdrop.  As Harry looked around, the unformed nothingness began to form, his surroundings inventing themselves before his eyes.  He was standing in a great, long hallway, which seemed somehow familiar, and yet not at the same time.

“Hello Harry.” said a soft, feminine voice from behind him.  He spun around to see a kind looking woman with fiery red hair and green eyes, the same colour and shape as his own.

“Hello.” Harry said cautiously.  The woman smiled at him sadly.

“I know that you don’t recognize me Harry, but… I’m your mother.” Harry’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open.

“W-what..?” he stammered, “But… but you’re dead!  You died in a car crash with my father!” the woman wrinkled her nose in distaste.

“The car crash was a lie that my sister told you because she refuses to speak the truth.  But yes, your father and I are dead.” Harry thought for a moment and then asked,

“Does that mean that I’m dead too?  Did uncle Vernon kill me?” now the woman’s – his mother’s – face contorted in anger.

“Yes.” She said through clenched teeth, “That pig my sister decided to marry did kill you.” Harry thought for a moment and decided that he didn’t really mind.  If this was what death was like, if he got to meet his mother, then it really wasn’t so bad.  However, there was one thing that that he was wondering about.

“You said that the car crash was a lie… how did you and my father die then?” his mother smiled at him and held out her arms,

“Come here, my smart baby, and I’ll tell you.” After only a second’s hesitation, Harry ran into his mother’s open arms and for the first time in his life – well, his death now as he was dead – he felt the warmth, comfort and joy of a mother’s hug.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back.  They hugged until Harry once again heard the thumping noises, and was about to turn his head to look, but his mother held his face still. “Don’t look my baby, you shouldn’t see.” A part of Harry wanted to look even more once she said that, but he repressed the urge.

His mother then took his hand and began leading him down the large hallway, away from the thumping.

“There was a war.” she said, “A war fought by witches and wizards, that’s what you and I are.”

“I’m a wizard?” Harry asked, quite dumbfounded, and yet the information seemed to sit well with him and he found nothing strange about it.  Maybe it was just this place.  It made sense, though; it explained all of the strange things that seemed to happen around him, and how he had talked to a snake that day.  His mother laughed, a beautiful sound that filled the foggy white space around them,

“Yes, Harry, you’re a wizard.  You have the wonderful gift of magic inside of you.”

“Okay.” Harry said, accepting that fact completely. “What was the war about?

“The war was about many things,” his mother said, “All of which I don’t quite know as I only came to the Wizarding World when I was eleven.  What I do know was that the war was fought between the Light and the Dark, each representing their branch of magic.  Dark Magic is illegal, it has been for hundreds of years, and I don’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but since it was made illegal many Dark Lords and Ladies have tried to abolish the laws against it.  One such man called himself Lord Voldemort, he attempted to persuade the Ministry of Magic to change the laws on Dark Magic, but when they wouldn’t listen to him, he showed them a demonstration of his magical power.  He caused a large fire in a magical and muggle – that is, non-magical – village.

“There was only one magical casualty in the fire, the rest were all muggles.  The one magical casualty had been a child and the wizarding community was enraged.  This happened in 1970, the first year that your father and I were in Hogwarts, and within that year an all-out war started.  As the students grew older, they were all expected to pick a side.  Due to the Dark side’s hatred of all things muggle, including muggleborns – that is, magical children born from muggles – such as myself, your father and I chose the Light side, led by Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  In 1980, a prophecy came to light telling of one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord.  It said that he would be born as the seventh month dies to parents who had faced Voldemort three times and survived.

“The prophecy could have been talking about either you or another boy named Neville Longbottom.  Both your father and I and the Longbottoms went into hiding separately.  Voldemort had heard of the prophecy from one of his Death Eaters, and fearing that the child of the prophecy would actually kill him, he chose to go after you.  Why he chose you though, I don’t know.  However, a close friend of ours, Peter Pettigrew betrayed us and Voldemort found us.  Your father and I love you very much Harry and we did everything that we could to protect you.  In my last breath I unknowingly invoked old magic which thankfully protected you from Voldemort.”

Harry listened closely to his mother’s words; she was very easy to listen to.  Her voice was beautiful and everything that she said was fascinating.  What affected him the most though, was when his mother had said that she and his father loved him very much.  She paused what she was saying to wipe the happy tears from his eyes.

“Don’t cry, my baby.” She said softly.

“W-why isn’t my dad here too?  Is this heaven?” his mum smiled sadly and said,

“No Harry, this isn’t heaven, it’s more of an in-between place.  As for your father… he wanted to come as well, but They would only let one of us come to see you.”

“Who are They?” Harry asked,

“I can’t tell you that,” she said, “I’m not allowed.  You’ll find out who They are when you come back with me.”

“Can I come back with you now then??” Harry asked excitedly.  His mother smiled sadly once again as she said,

“I’m sorry Harry, but you can’t come back with me, not yet anyway.”

“W-why not..?” he asked.  His mum sighed,

“Because They said that it isn’t your time yet.  It wasn’t supposed to happen like this; you weren’t supposed to die now.  They are very cross with that pig you call an uncle.  After we talk, you get to choose whether you want to move on or come back to life.”

“But I’m  _dead_.”  Harry said, “How can I come back to life?”

“In simple terms, because They don’t want you to be dead anymore.” His mother said with a smirk, “Ordinarily, without something like a soul piece or blood tying you to the living, you wouldn’t be able to go back, but given who you are, They have decided to bend the rules a little.  A bit of a trade-off really.  You see, Harry,” his mother said, “When Voldemort tried to kill you and failed, the curse rebounded onto him, and because of how damaged and broken his soul already was, a piece of it came off and attached itself to the only living thing in the room; you.”

“So… so I have a piece of someone else’s soul living inside of me..?” Harry asked.

“Yes, but it was doing much more than just living inside of you.” His mother replied darkly, “You are one of a kind my baby, there has never before been a human Horcrux – that is, something which contains a part of someone’s soul – and for good reason.  If that were attempted on an adult wizard, or even a magical child, then the person’s magic and soul would fight off the invader and win as it would be a mere fraction of a soul against a full soul.  If this were attempted on a muggle, then the foreign magical presence inside of them would kill them.  However, as you were only a baby, and a magical baby at that, the soul piece was able to attach itself to you without killing you or itself.

“However, in an attempt to continue what it was trying to do in the last few moments it had while it was still part of the main soul, since it couldn’t kill you it has been trying to weaken you.  Were you an average wizard then you would have been rendered no more than a squib – that is, a muggle born to magical parents – helpless against Lord Voldemort when he would find a way to return.  However, you my baby are not an average wizard.  You’re very special, and very magically powerful.  Your father and I were quite powerful in our own right, but nothing compared to you. 

“The soul piece has been inhibiting your magic and your magical development since you were only a year old.  Due to how powerful you are, the soul piece was only able to inhibit part of your magic.  To anyone else you would seem to have the same magical capabilities of any other child, however, having your magic inhibited is incredibly bad for your magical core and your magical development.  Who knows what effect it would have had on your magical development if it had been allowed to stay with you throughout your years at Hogwarts… inhibiting your magic in the most crucial years of magical development…  It may have permanently damaged your magical core, limiting your magic for the rest of your life, especially mind magics such as Occlumency and Legilimency since the soul piece was located in your mind.

“They have decided to exchange the soul piece’s life for your own.  Though that is bending the rules as both you and the soul piece should have died together, they believe that your uninhibited magic should be powerful enough to heal your body.” Harry thought about this for a few minutes, though this Voldemort didn’t sound like a very nice person, he had killed his parents after all!  He didn’t like the idea that someone else had to die so that he could live.  He didn’t even like his life very much, so why would he want to go back to it?

“You said that after we talk that I would get to choose whether I want to move on or come back to life.  If… if I was to move on, then how would I?” His mother frowned, but replied anyway,

“Well, where are we?”

“You said that we were in the in-between place.” Harry replied.

“No baby,” she said, “I mean, what does it look like?” Harry looked around himself and realized why the place had seemed so familiar before.

“It’s a larger version of the hallway in front of my cupboard!” Harry replied. “Why does it look like that?”

“The in-between place is meant to look like whatever the person associates with passing between two worlds or two places the most.  For some, it’s a door or a gate, for others it’s a pathway.  For me, it’s King’s Cross Station, as even still I consider boarding that train to Hogwarts as a passing between two different worlds.  You, my baby have had a terrible life.  I am so, so sorry for that… for leaving you to be raised by my horrid sister and her family…  Your cupboard is the only place where you ever found any peace from your terrible life, so you view it as another world entirely.  If you walk through that cupboard door, then you will join me and your father in the afterlife.” As she spoke, a larger version of his cupboard door opened, a bright golden light shining through it, contrasting the white around them.  He looked longingly at it.

“No, Harry, my baby, look at me.” He turned to look at her and she cupped his small face with her hands, “You can’t go through there.  Not now, not yet.  You’re only ten years old.  You’ve barely lived.  Things will get better, trust me.  You’ll be going to Hogwarts soon.  It’s a school full of magic, you’ll make friends there.”

“But I want to go with you…” Harry said as tears started to well up in his eyes, “I want to meet my dad…  I don’t want to go back to the Dursleys…  They killed me!”

“I know my baby…  I know…  But you must go back.  You are so very special and I don’t think They would be very happy with you if you passed on so soon.”

“Okay.” Harry said as tears fell down his face. “I love you mum.”  His mother wiped them away and he hugged her as tight as he could, never wanting to let go. “I love you too, my baby.” His mother replied. 

The thumping that Harry had been trying to ignore and had nearly forgotten about, came to his attention again.  After hearing everything that his mother had said, he realized what that sound must be coming from.  Harry let go of his mother and looked behind her, ignoring her protests that he shouldn’t look.

Despite the fact that they had been walking away from it, it wasn’t very far from them.  The thing that was making the noise, Voldemort’s soul piece, had the form of a small, naked child, curled on the ground, its skin raw and rough, flayed-looking, and it lay shuddering under a seat where it had been left, unwanted, stuffed out of sight, struggling for breath.  It was sad looking, and though it repulsed him and scared him, he wanted to help it.  It reminded him of himself in a way; small, fragile, wounded and unwanted.  He drew nearer to the flailing thing.

“No, Harry!  You can’t do anything to help it.”

“But it’s so sad…” Harry said as he continued to walk closer to it.  It repulsed him, but he wanted to comfort it, to try and ease its pain.  When Harry had walked right up to the seat, despite his mother’s protests, he bent down and looked at the soul piece.  It was still shuddering, but it stopped flailing to look Harry in the eyes.

When it did so, Harry saw flashes of images; a little boy being teased and picked on by a group of older boys; a slightly older boy being laughed at, and made fun of as he shivered in the cold snow after having a bucket of dirty water dumped on his head; a sad boy writing in a diary about stupid kids and how he would get back at them for what they had done; a scared boy being punched and kicked by the older boys; a bruised and dirty boy going to an adult woman for help, only for him to be yelled at for lying; a boy being shoved into a dark closet, the door shutting behind him, laughter on the other side as he pounds on the door and yells to be let out; a boy sitting at a table and a small amount of something that looks entirely inedible being put on his plate, he’s told that’s all he’ll be getting today, times are tough; a boy once again being punched and kicked by older boys, only for them to fly backwards, away from him. 

The scenes change, it’s brighter and more cheerful now, and a boy about his age in black dress-like clothes is standing up from a stool and walking towards a table of older boys and girls in the same dress-like clothes, only for him to trip when one of them points what appears to be a stick at him; a boy sitting alone in the back of class glaring at a man with piercing blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles and has long auburn hair and beard, while the man just smiles at him, but his eyes hold the same look that all of Harry’s teachers give him after Aunt Petunia had talked to them about him.

That little boy was just like him…  Harry had always wanted a friend, someone to talk to and relate to.  There had been someone just like him in his own head and he hadn’t even known it!  Harry moved the seat away from the soul piece and bent down again, face to face with it.

“Harry no!  Don’t touch it!  You don’t know what it’ll do to you!”

“But mum,” Harry said, “He’s just like me…” then, Harry reached out and took the repulsive creature into his arms, hugging it.

The moment Harry’s skin touched that of Voldemort’s soul piece, there was an explosion of magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter or the last then please leave a comment below and give Kudos :) I'd love to hear what you think of my story and possibly any theories that you have about where this is heading :) Also please let me know what you think of my portrayal of Lily and a mostly unbiased view of the war. I never liked how the Dark side was always portrayed as the bad guys and yet they never tell us all of what they want for the Wizarding World, only that they want to get rid of muggles and muggleborns. But anyway, please leave a comment and Kudos if you liked it :)


	3. Big Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the incident at the zoo where Harry talked to and freed the snake, Vernon gave him the worst beating of his life and then accidentally killed him by attempting to hit him over the head with (though he hadn't realized it through his anger) a knife. Harry then found himself in the in-between place that he had previously gone to when he was 17, but instead of meeting Dumbledore there, he met his mother. She told him that he was a wizard and a horcrux and about the war in a relatively unbiased way. She also told also told him that technically he should be dying along with the horcrux, but that 'They' were bending the rules a bit and sacrificing the Horcrux inside of him that had been inhibiting his magic in order to save him. 'They' are also extremely angry at his Uncle... But then Harry looked at the horcrux and felt pity for it, he looked into its eyes and saw flashes of Tom Riddle's childhood. He related to the repulsive creature and despite the protests from his mother, he embraced the horcrux in a hug, which resulted in an explosion of magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of child neglect, child abuse and murder.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts. ~This is the soul piece talking.~ ___

“What have you _done_ Vernon?!” Harry heard his aunt Petunia demand, her voice ringing in his aching head.  Actually, he was aching all over, but the pain in his head was the worst.

“It was an _accident_ , Petunia!” his uncle defended, “How was I supposed to know that I had grabbed a knife?!  Not like it’s a great loss anyway, freak deserved it for what he did to my son.”

“That’s not the _point_ , Vernon!” his aunt hissed. “Now _his lot_ are going to be coming after us!  That letter said the boy was famous!  We’ll have to go into hiding… but who knows how many freakish ways they have to track people down…  Our lives are _over_ , Vernon!  And on Diddy’s birthday too…  What were you _thinking_?!?” Harry realized that they were talking about him and the fact that his uncle had killed him.  He had known that they hated him, but he didn’t think that they hated him so much that they wouldn’t even care if he _died_.  Yet there they were, talking over his previously dead body, only caring about what ‘his lot’ would do to them now.  Now that he knew about them, Harry assumed that they were talking about wizards and witches

Though, the part about him being famous confused him, why would he be famous?

_~Idiot boy,~_ said a voice in his head, _~Obviously because they believe you killed Voldemort and ended their war.~_

_Why would that end a war though?_ Harry thought, _Just because their leader died, that shouldn’t mean that the war is over…  He had an army, didn’t he?  Couldn’t someone new have been the leader?_

_~Cowards, all of them.~_ the voice replied, _~They’ll only fight for what they believe in when they have someone incredibly powerful leading and defending them.  Leave them on their own and they scatter like cockroaches away from the Light.~_ Harry then realized that the voice in his head was not his own and started to panic a little, _~Took you long enough.~_ the voice said. _~How such an idiot was ever meant to ‘vanquish’ me, I will never understand.”_

_A-are you Voldemort..?_ the voice paused and then answered,

_~In a way, yes I am.  I am a part of his soul, though I don’t believe that calling myself ‘Voldemort’ would be appropriate as the name was meant to mean ‘escaping death’, but now the only reason I still live is because a ten year old took pity on me.  If you could even call this sorry excuse for an existence_ living _.~_

_So… I saved you?_

_~Yes.~_ he said bitterly, _~But don’t expect me to be grateful to you.~_ Harry wasn’t sure how he felt about the fact that he had saved a part of the man that had killed his parents…

_How am I alive then?_ Harry asked, _My Mother said that ‘They’ were going to exchange my life for yours.  How am I alive again if you are too?_ There was silence in Harry’s mind for a moment before the soul piece answered,

_~As much as it pains me to say it, I do not know.  What I do know is that when your soul embraced mine, it resulted in an explosion of magic as our souls melded together as one.  You are technically no longer a Horcrux as my soul has combined with yours and I am no longer a mere parasite inhibiting your magic.~_

_Speaking of that,_ Harry thought, _I don’t really feel any different.  I thought that I would with my magic uninhibited._

_~That is because your magic is currently at work healing the injuries that disgusting muggle inflicted on you.  As you have failed to notice, the pain is nearly gone.~_ he was right.  The pain in Harry’s back, leg, arm, neck and chest were all gone.  The only remaining pain was in his head. 

Harry opened his eyes and stood up; when aunt Petunia saw him she shrieked and backed away from him.  His uncle looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head.  Harry reached up, grabbed the butcher’s knife and pulled it, quite painfully, out of his head.  With the knife out of the way, his magic finished healing him, and suddenly, Harry could feel it.  He was _powerful_!  A constant buzzing just underneath his skin, aching to be used and unleashed, though he had never felt it before, the feeling was so natural that it felt like it had always been there. 

A part of him wanted to use his newfound power on his gobsmacked aunt and uncle.

“But… but you’re _dead_!” his aunt shrieked at him. “Vernon killed you!”

“Yes, he did.” Harry said, feeling an anger rise up in him that was part his own and part not. “And now, I’m alive again.  I really should thank you Uncle.  After all, you killing me made me stronger.” Both of the muggles recoiled in fear as he let his magic out slightly on instinct.  He heard a dark chuckle inside his mind.

_~Do it!~_ the soul piece insisted, _~Kill those filthy muggles for daring to harm a wizard!  They should know their place!~_

_Kill them?_ Harry thought, _No, I don’t want to kill them._

_~Foolish child!  They are disgusting muggles and they dared to attack a wizard!  They killed you!  Don’t give me the fool’s argument that killing is wrong.~_

_Of course_ you _would think that._ Harry thought at him, _You killed my parents._ The soul piece sighed.

_~I did not want to kill them.  They were very powerful and would have made excellent additions to the Dark.  They chose the wrong side and then they made the wrong choice of trying to protect you.  They got in my way and for that, they paid the price.  It was war, child.  I don’t expect you to understand that._

_I do understand._ Harry thought defiantly, _You heard about some prophecy and because you were scared of me you tried to kill me when I was a baby._ The soul piece hissed at him,

_~I did not fear you, child.  I was eliminating a potential future threat.~_

_Same thing._ Harry thought before turning back to his aunt and uncle.

“I have a _lot_ of power now,” Harry said, trying to sound as threatening as he could, which, unfortunately he didn’t, as the soprano of a ten year old child’s voice wasn’t very frightening.  However, his magic seemed to naturally do everything that he wanted it to and it created a dark and threatening feeling in the room. “So, if you _ever_ even _touch_ me again, then I’ll… I’ll… I’ll turn you both into dung beetles!  And Dudley too!”

_~Oh, very frightening.~_ the soul piece said sarcastically.

_Shut up._ Harry thought back at him.

“Also, I want Dudley’s second bedroom.  You have two extra rooms in this house and yet you still make me sleep in a cupboard!  Well… well that’s not going to happen anymore!” then Harry thought for a moment if he was missing anything. “And do your own housework and cooking from now on!  I’m not doing another thing for you ever again!”

“N-now wait just a second, boy!” Uncle – no, Vernon shouted after him as he began to walk away, “You should be grateful to me and Petunia for ever taking you in at all!  We gave you a roof over your head and let you eat food from our table!  We could have just shipped you off to an orphanage and had nothing to do with you!  You should be _grateful_!” Harry felt a small twinge of guilt, but he pushed it away.

“You _killed me_!!” Harry said, a little hysterically, he still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that he had actually _died_.  Vernon retreated a little in fright from his magic which was responding to his emotions. “Any reason for me to be grateful to you stops _right there_!  I could very easily just turn you into a dung beetle or a toad,” Harry said, even though he didn’t actually know how to do that. “And the only reason I haven’t… the only reason I haven’t is because I need someone to pay the house bills.  So… so just watch yourself!” Then Harry turned around and began to leave the cowering Dursleys, turning around just one last time to say, “And I wish you _had_ just shipped me off to an orphanage.  I know what they’re like now and I honestly think I would have been better off there.” From inside his mind he felt the soul piece flinch, though how a soul could flinch and how he could _feel_ it, he didn’t know.

Harry then gathered all of his stuff together in his arms and moved it into Dudley’s second bedroom, because of how few belongings he had, it only took one trip.  He walked back downstairs one last time to look at his cupboard.  It had been an escape for him, but now it was empty, all except for the poor excuse for a mattress that he had slept on.  And hopefully, his life would get better so he wouldn’t need an escape from it.

_~Do you really believe that?~_ the soul piece asked Harry after he had made the trip back to Dudley’s second – no, _his_ bedroom.  His voice sounded a bit strained, though he wasn’t sure why it would be.

“Believe what?”Harry asked aloud, he was alone now so he saw no harm in it.

_~Do you really believe that you would have been better off in an orphanage, even after seeing glimpses of my childhood?~_

“Yes.” Harry answered, “Your childhood was horrible, but at least you weren’t beat with a belt nearly every day.  At least you didn’t have to scrub every inch of the place until your fingers bled.  At least you didn’t have to cook every single meal and hope that maybe you would get at least some scraps.” He sighed, “I know that I only saw glimpses of your childhood, and I have no right to judge, but I would have preferred it to the way I've been living until now.”

There was silence in his head for a long while and the soul piece thought about what Harry had said.  Though he had lived in the boy’s mind since he was only a year old, he was never really aware of what was going on in the boy’s life.  Sometimes he got glimpses of thoughts, but all of his efforts were focused on inhibiting the boy’s incredible magic.  (He wondered now why he had been so focused on that for so long, why should he help the main soul piece?  What was Voldemort to him?  Other than himself of course…) He had never known what was going on in the boy’s life, not really.  He never would have thought the boy would have a childhood that would make his own pale in comparison…  If it was true that the boy was famous for supposedly ‘vanquishing’ him, then why would the Wizarding World let its hero live with abusive muggles??

“Hey,” Harry said, addressing him, “If you’re, er, going to be living in my head, then I should probably call you something.  I can’t just keep referring to you as ‘the soul piece’.  And you don’t want me to call you Voldemort, so…” there was a long pause before the soul piece responded,

_~Marvolo.~_ the soul piece said finally, _~You may call me Marvolo.~_

“Okay, Marvolo.” Harry replied as he tucked himself into his new bed, it was quite late after all and it had been a very eventful day.  He had gone to the zoo, talked to a snake, made his first ever friend, let said snake free by vanishing the glass, gotten the worst beating of his life, died, met his dead mother, found out about a whole other world full of magic, became more powerful, intimidated his relatives, moved out of his cupboard and saved the life of a part of the man who had killed his parents.  He still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that last one…  He didn’t know very much about the man other than the fact that he had led a war and killed his parents because he thought that Harry himself was going to grow up to kill him and they had defended him.

He knew that he should hate him for killing his parents, but he had met his mother.  She had seemed happy where she was.  Maybe she and his father were in a better place.  He wished that he could talk to her again and ask her what to do…  He wished that he could meet his father.  He wondered what they thought about the fact that he had saved a part of the man who had killed them.  He wondered even more what they would think about the fact that he didn’t hate him.  He didn’t particularly like him, but for some reason, he didn’t hate him.  He even understood why he had done it a little bit.  They had learned about war at school and he knew that people died in war, soldiers died in war, and, for some reason, that was completely normal.

Harry wondered what he would do in that kind of a situation...  If he was leading some great war, fighting for his beliefs, and he knew that if he died then no one would bother to take his place and continue to fight because they were all too scared.  Then he heard a prophecy saying that a child would grow up to kill him.  What would he do?  Would he try to kill the child while they were still a baby in hopes of eliminating the threat?  Or would he leave the child alone and let it grow up, even though it would probably grow up to kill him?  He just didn't know...  But it was clear that Voldemort, or, Marvolo now (this part of him at least), had chosen the former.  Would he have done that too, if he was him?  And of course, if he had decided to kill the child, then if the parents got in the way, then he would just have to kill them too...

They were _his_ parents though!  And he felt like he was somehow failing them for not hating the man that had killed them.  For saving his life even.  Maybe it was because their souls had combined that he didn’t hate him.  If their souls were combined, then that would technically make him a part of him, so hating him would be hating himself.  Maybe.  Or maybe it was because Harry had realized that all of those times that he had felt alone and friendless, that he really wasn’t alone.  He realized that he would never ever be lonely again, now he had a friend, sort of, living in his head…

_~I am not your friend.~_ Marvolo said irritably from inside of his head.  As Harry fell asleep, his last thought was,

_I don’t care._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think of this chapter? Sorry that this update took so long, I was having some technical difficulties. I promise that all future updates will be much more regular. But, thanks for reading my story, I certainly hope that you like it, and if you do that you would give Kudos or leave a comment or bookmark it and let me know that, so that I know my story is being received well and that it's worth the effort I want to put into it to continue it :) So, thanks and I hope you will continue to enjoy where this is going, maybe give some guesses or suggestions in the comment section, both are always appreciated :)


	4. New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter's life was turned on its head when, after talking to a snake in a zoo his uncle accidentally killed him while beating him. He ended up in a place that has been dubbed the 'in-between place' and met his dead mother who told him that he's a wizard, a Horcrux, part of a prophecy, incredibly powerful and important enough that some unseen force dubbed only as 'They' saw fit to bend the rules of the universe to bring him back to life by killing the Horcrux inside of him instead. But when Harry saw the Horcrux, he found that he related to it and turning Their plan on its head, he saved it. Upon waking up from being dead, Harry's new powers healed him and he then used them to intimidate the Dursleys into not starving him or making him do chores anymore and he now sleeps in Dudley's second bedroom instead of the cupboard. The Hocrux, who dubbed himself 'Marvolo' now lives in Harry's head and talks to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of child neglect, child abuse and murder.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ ___

Over the next month, Harry enjoyed his life quite a bit. He wasn’t cramped in a cupboard all day, he had a room of his own that he could stand and walk around in. He didn’t have to wake up bright and early every day to do chores or cook, he could even sleep in. He wasn’t beaten nearly every day for little mistakes. He wasn’t stuck inside this depressing house that was gradually becoming less and less clean as Petunia didn’t clean as often or well as he had. He was able to leave the house and go for long walks, he especially loved walking at night, the sky outside was absolutely beautiful and he loved the way all of his surroundings changed colours without the light of the sun shining on them, turning darker shades and being enveloped with shadows. It was a dark kind of beauty and he found that he quite liked it; he also loved the silence and peace that the night provided.

During that month, Harry had mastered quite a bit of control over his magic, with Marvolo’s help of course. Well, if sarcastic and snarky comments and insults can be called ‘helping’. It did help him, though.  He was now able to control the moods that his magic projected, make things float and come to him and keep his magic contained so that no one would be able to feel it at all (though his magic didn’t particularly like being contained). Harry was becoming quite used to having another person in his head, Marvolo didn’t talk all the time, and sometimes he would go days without talking to him, but when he did talk, he wasn’t as surprised anymore. He was quite surprised the first time that Marvolo had suddenly spoken after over a day of silence, he was so shocked that he had accidentally broken a glass of water that was in his room with his magic.

The Dursleys left him alone now. They didn’t even bother him when he walked into the kitchen and took food out of their fridge. They completely ignored his presence entirely, and though it hurt just a little bit, he ignored them right back. After all, this was much better than the way things had been before, now the most they did was follow him warily with their eyes when they thought he wasn’t looking. His life was all around pretty great; he could come and go as he pleased, he was getting control over the amazing power that was inside of him, the Dursleys were so afraid of him that they didn’t even talk to him anymore, he had his own room which he had cleaned and fixed up and made look very nice (in fact, it was the cleanest room in the whole house now, what with Petunia’s meager cleaning skills), he even had someone to talk to occasionally, even if they weren’t the nicest person.

The one thing that puts a dent in his now quite amazing life is his dreams.  Or, a better word for them would be _nightmares_. Nearly every single night he dreamt of his uncle beating him. Or about his aunt scolding him and telling him that he was worthless, not good enough, a waste of space and money, a freak; or her telling his teachers that he was a bad and terrible child, and the looks that they gave him afterwards. Or about his cousin chasing him to beat him up, or threatening or even beating up the other kids so that they wouldn’t be friends with him. Or about the constant loneliness that he felt; he had one dream where his rock and stick toys had grown to fifty feet, surrounded him and then began taunting him by telling him that they were his only friends and they always would be... He had then promptly thrown them out.  Every night he woke up in a cold sweat and decidedly went for a walk in the cool night air.

The night of the 23rdofJuly was one of these nights. It had been exactly thirty days since Dudley’s birthday on the 23rdofJune, and as if his subconscious realized this, it chose a nightmare to suit.  Harry had dreamt about the snake that he had set free from the zoo on Dudley’s birthday, he had been sitting in his cupboard, like he often was in these dreams, and then the snake had suddenly appeared in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere. He had smiled at her and told her that he was happy to see her and asked her if she had been to Brazil yet.

The large snake then began to wrap around his neck and body, slowly crushing him while she told him that they weren’t friends. That calling him ‘amigo’ was merely a figure of speech and he was stupid for even thinking that they were actually friends. They weren’t and she had never liked him, he was just a means of letting her escape. He would never have friends, he would always be lonely, he would always be a freak in the eyes of all those around him, even her.

Harry had once again woken up in a cold sweat, he was shaking and shivering and he didn’t want to be in this dratted house anymore. He summoned the towel that he now kept in his room and dried the sweat off of his skin before he changed out of the pyjamas that he had forced Petunia to buy for him and into a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt that he had also forced her to buy. He had left her a note, telling her to get him four pairs of pyjamas, six T-shirts, two pairs of jeans, three pairs of trousers, eight pairs of boxers and ten pairs of socks, along with a small threat at the end of it. She had hung the bag on his doorknob without saying a word or even knocking and then had left and gone back to acting as if he didn’t exist.

Despite the fact that she hadn’t knocked, he had been able to sense that she was there. He had wondered why that was and Marvolo had snarkily replied that it was _obviously_  because of his magic and he must be a magic sensitive, meaning that his magic was more sensitive to magic and other living things than most wizards, he’d had followers who were magic sensitive. Harry found that he was able to sense Petunia the most and Vernon the least with Dudley right in the middle. Harry wondered why that was, but Marvolo stayed silent, it was a different kind of silence, though, than he was used to, it was a contemplative kind of silence that meant that he was thinking about it but he didn’t know, but Harry didn’t know how he knew that at all. If even _Marvolo_ didn’t know, then he figured that there wasn’t much else that he could do about it, so he brushed it off for later.

After Harry had put his clothes on, he checked the clock (Dudley’s broken alarm clock which he had _accidentally_ fixed when he was wondering what the time was, saw the broken clock and wished that it worked. The clock still looked broken, only now it ticked and the hands moved and it said the right time), it was about 5:50 in the morning. The sun would be rising soon, but it would still be dark for a good half hour at least, plus he would get to see the sunrise, that was always fun. Harry continued walking until he reached a little grassy hill that he often walked to at this time in the morning, to sit down and watch the sun rise…

After the sun had fully risen in the sky, Harry decided to walk back to number 4 Privet Drive. He made a few detours along the way, as he didn’t particularly _want_ to go back, but he was starting to get a bit hungry, so he eventually did go back. His appetite had increased over the last month from eating a decent amount of food, though it was still not the amount that a boy his age _should_ be eating, it was better than what it was, he'd even filled a little bit. Though he was still incredibly short and skinny for his age. By the time Harry got back to the Dursley’s house, it was just after eight.

Harry walked into the kitchen to get himself something to eat, and found that all three of his relatives were sitting at the table eating burnt eggs and sausages with grimaces on their faces. The moment that he walked in, they stopped eating and just stared down at their plates. Dudley looked like he wanted to run out of the room, he always had that look on his face when Harry was around. Ever since one time that he had ignored his parents after they had warned him to leave him alone and nothing had happened to any of them for a week. Dudley had apparently decided that he was all talk and that it would be okay to play a game of ‘Harry Hunting’.

Harry had been practicing his magic all that week and had mastered how to pick things up, so he had tried it on Dudley. Unlike the objects that he had practiced on, Dudley flailed and struggled and yelled to be put down. The movement made it difficult for him to keep Dudley floating, so after only a few seconds, Dudley went crashing back onto the ground, landing on his fat bottom. Harry hadn’t meant to drop him, but regardless, he found it kind of funny and laughed, Dudley had given him such a terrified look at that moment that he almost felt bad for him. Almost. Marvolo had laughed too, a high, rather cruel laugh, but a laugh nonetheless, and the two of them laughed together as Harry walked back up the stairs to his bedroom after threatening Dudley that worse would happen to him if he ever tried that again.

The three just ignored him as he rifled through their fridge, grabbed a couple eggs and began to cook them on the stove. It was kind of funny to watch how scared they were of him and how awkward they clearly felt about him staying in the room. A part of Harry that wanted to take revenge on them felt oddly satisfied at seeing them like that. After Marvolo had told Harry that he should kill the Dursleys, he seriously considered it during the days that followed, especially Vernon.  He had never thought of killing anyone before, but after Marvolo had suggested it, he couldn't help but consider it.  After all, he had killed _him_ , so wasn’t it only fair? In the end, though, he had decided not to, partially because he was a bit afraid to, he had never killed anyone before, what if he felt incredibly guilty afterwards? It was ending a human life, and even if it was a life as pathetic as the Dursleys’, it was still a human life. Also partially because he didn’t want to hurt anyone. He didn’t like to hurt others, he didn’t like to see others in pain, that was the reason why he didn’t even try to make friends at school, because he didn’t want them to be hurt. Maybe it would be different for the Dursleys, after all, they had hurt him constantly and Vernon had even _killed_ him.  They deserved it.  And he hadn’t felt bad when he had hurt Dudley, but even still, he didn’t want to purposefully cause pain to someone else. He felt like it would change who he was if he did.

However, besides those other reasons, the last reason why he had decided not to kill the Dursleys was because it was, in a way, kind of _fun_ to watch them fear him. They had been so horrible to him over the last ten years that there was no doubt in Harry’s mind that they _deserved_ it. They deserved to cower away from him; they deserved to submissively lower their eyes to their plates when he was in the room. They deserved to feel  gut-wrenching terror when he was displeased with them.  They deserved to feel the same things that they had made him feel for the last ten years.  Harry wasn’t quite sure where these thoughts and feelings had come from, he had never had them before he died, all he wanted was for them to accept him and love him like they loved each other, other times he just wished that they would leave him alone. Maybe it was because he was more powerful now; maybe it was because he wasn’t constantly being abused by them now; maybe it was because Vernon had actually _killed_ him and he and Petunia had only cared about what would happen to them; maybe it was because Marvolo was now a part of his soul and he had no problems with hurting and killing people. Whatever it was, a part of Harry didn’t want to kill them for the sole reason that if they were dead, then he couldn’t watch them be afraid of him anymore, and watching that was incredibly amusing.

Harry had just finished cooking his eggs when he heard the click of the mail slot and the flop of letters on the doormat. As soon as the letters entered the house, Harry knew that something was wrong. He could feel something very, very wrong. The Dursley’s house by now was completely saturated with his magic and _his_ magic alone as he was the only magical person who lived there, but now… Now there was a foreign magical object _invading_ that.  His magic rejected its presence, like he had somehow laid claim to this house and no other magical thing was allowed to enter it. Harry tried to ignore his magic while he put his eggs onto a plate and then walked into the living room, following the feeling of the foreign magical object.

Three things lay on the doormat, Harry picked them up; there was a postcard from Vernon’s horrid sister Marge, a brown envelope that looked like a bill and an envelope made of thick, yellowish parchment, there was no stamp and the address, which was written in emerald-green ink, read:

_Mr. H Potter_

_The Smallest Bedroom_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

Dropping the other letters onto the ground, Harry went into the kitchen, grabbed his eggs and then made his way up to his bedroom to examine the letter.

 _~Ah, I see you’ve gotten your Hogwarts letter. ~ _Marvolo said suddenly.

“Is that what this is?” Harry asked as he walked into his bedroom and shut the door.

 _~Yes ,~ _Marvolo responded in a tone that clearly implied that he thought that he was stupid. Harry didn’t really care, he was used to it and he was becoming rather fond of Marvolo’s snarky ways. _~Enough sentimentality, idiot boy. Just open the letter. ~ _Marvolo instructed impatiently. Harry complied.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term beg ins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall,_

_Deputy Headmistress_

“What does it mean they ‘await my owl’?” Harry asked.

 _~It means what it says. ~ _Marvolo replied, _~You send an owl with your letter. ~_

“But… how would an owl know how to get there? _I_ don’t even know how to get there. Where would I get an owl anyway?” Marvolo sighed deeply before he began his explanation.

 _~Owls are one of the very few magical creatures that muggles know exist. Unlike dragons and giants they don’t cause harm or destruction and unlike Phoenixes and Unicorns they are not obviously magical. They are incredibly intelligent creatures with the ability to find anyone, anywhere have an uncanny sense of direction. Wizards use them as a way to deliver letters and packages to each other. The majority of the owls in Europe are wizard owned; it is very rare to find a wild owl. You can purchase an owl in most wizarding store plazas.~ _Harry nodded in understanding.

“Okay.” He said, “Do wizards not use telephones then?”

 _~No. ~ _replied Marvolo, _~Though there are other ways of communicating via enchanted mirrors, fireplaces via the Floo Network and Patroni. ~_ Harry was about to ask what the Floo network and Patroni were and how those or a mirror could let you talk to someone, until he remember the second piece of paper inside the envelope. It was a list of rather odd school supplies from dragon hide gloves to a book called _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_ by Miranda Goshawk to a _wand_ , as well as a reminder that first years weren’t allowed their own _broomsticks_. He supposed that he shouldn’t be surprised (it was like those decorations of green and warty witches riding broomsticks that you see out around Halloween), but couldn’t they think of something better to fly on other than an actual _broomstick_? Supposing of course that they could  make anything able to fly with magic, which Harry assumed that they were.

“Marvolo, where do I get this stuff? I don’t suppose I can buy a wand or a cauldron in a muggle shop.”

 _~Obviously. ~ _Marvolo replied, _You’ll have to get it all at Diagon Alley. ~_

“How do I get to Diagon Alley?”

 _~Must you really need my help with_ everything _?! ~_ Marvolo sighed before he said, _~Go ask your useless relatives for muggle money, we’re going to London.~_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So next chapter Harry will be going to Diagon Alley!! Please leave a comment below letting me know what you think of the chapter or the story in general, along with any other comments or questions you might have :) And please leave Kudos if you liked the story :) I am absolutely ecstatic at the response this story has gotten :)


	5. Diagon Alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Another Life, Harry is physically abused by his relatives and Vernon accidentally kills him. He goes to the in-between place and meets his mother who tells him about many things, including his magical heritage and the war from a mostly unbiased point of view. He discovers that the mysterious 'They' want him to come back to life by sacrifcing Voldy's Horcrux (even though TECHNICALLY Harry should have died too), but Harry blows a hole in their plan by embracing the soul piece with his own soul, melding their souls together. Now Harry's got Marvolo in his head, talking to him and teaching him wandless magic (he is now very, very powerful). Harry has just recently gotten his Hogwarts letter and now he is headed off to Diagon Alley to get his supplies. To the Leaky Cauldron! And then, first stop, Gringotts!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains intense magical feelings (in a literal sense) and learning some Goblin customs.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ ___

Marvolo gave Harry directions to Diagon Alley, complaining at the inconvenience of it all the way. When he told Harry to walk into a tiny grubby-looking pub, he was a bit confused. That is until he drew a bit closer to it and felt a strong magic coming from it. He wondered what it was…

 _~Your idiocy never ceases to amaze me,_ Marvolo stated bluntly, _~It is obviously the wards to keep it hidden from the muggles. I knew that the first time I came here when I was eleven and I didn’t even have your particular gift.~_

 _Sh ut up…_ Harry grumbled in his head. Now that he was looking and not focused only on the magic, he noticed how all of the muggles didn’t even notice the little shop; their eyes slid from the big bookshop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn’t see the grubby little building at all. Given what Marvolo had just said, they probably couldn’t.

Harry walked into the grubby pub, which Marvolo informed him was called the ‘Leaky Cauldron’; it was a rather dark and shabby place. There were a few old women sitting in a corner drinking tiny glasses of sherry and conversing secretively about what could only be gossip. A balding, round bellied man was talking to the old bartender, who was even balder and looked oddly like a toothless walnut. However, Harry didn’t notice any of these things when he first walked in, as the moment he walked into the pub he was immediately overwhelmed by all of the magic surrounding him. Each and every single witch and wizard were giving off their own magical auras of differing levels of power and it felt like the magic was coming at him from every side in every way, consuming his senses and completely and utterly overwhelming him.

He felt like he was going to pass out or be sick; his knees were shaking, his skin was covered in goose-bumps, he was breaking out in a cold sweat, his eyes were darting this way and that, he was incredibly confused and could barely remember where he was and his magic was becoming increasingly agitated…

Marvolo was at a loss for what to do or say, which was incredibly unlike him. His followers who were magic sensitive had told him that sometimes large amounts of magic would overwhelm them, but _never_ to this degree. He knew that if he didn’t find a way to  calm to boy down soon then his magic would react, and quite violently by the looks of it.

 _~Harry ,~ _Marvolo said, using the boy’s name for the first time since their souls had melded together, _~You need to calm down. ~ _he said, trying to sound as calm and reassuring as possible, which he was in no way used to and had no plans of ever doing again. _~Try to focus in on something. Focus on the bartender’s magic. Only focus on him. ~_

In his confusion, he heard Marvolo’s voice. He attempted to do what he said. He stared straight at the bald, wrinkly, toothless bartender and focused on his magic. He tried to find just his magic and ignore all of the others. It took him a few minutes, but soon he was able to do it. Harry had never met another magical being before and the only other magical object that he had come in contact with so far was his Hogwarts letter. However, that only had traces of magic from being in a magical place and handled by magical beings. An actual wizard was something else _entirely_ , never mind a whole building full of witches and wizards, flooded with so many different magics.

The bartender didn’t seem to have very strong magic, and though Harry didn’t know how he knew that, he just _did_.  Currently the bartender’s magic was quite relaxed, though there was an on-going spell that was washing some cups for him just behind him. Harry then tried to focus on someone else’s magic; it took less time than the first time, though it was still a huge effort. One of the witches in the corner, who was smoking a rather long pipe had very jumpy and sporadic magic, though it wasn’t very much in quantity it seemed as though it was ready to jump out of its confines of her frail-looking body at any given moment. Harry had the distinct feeling that that wasn’t entirely healthy…

Marvolo suggested that if he was going to be staying here for a while, then he should sit down so he wouldn’t look like some staring fool. Harry did as he was instructed and let his attention go from the smoking woman in the corner to the balding, round-bellied man talking to the bartender (who had rather calm, peaceful and breezy magic), to a little man in a top hat who was sitting at one of the nearby tables (who had very bouncy and joyful magic), to another one of the women in the corner (who had very fiery and ferocious magic, despite her small and meek looking appearance. Harry supposed that just as he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, he shouldn’t judge a person’s magic by their appearance).

Once Harry had gotten used to the feel of the magic around him and was quite comfortable in its presence without having to focus in on one particular magic, Marvolo suggested that they should head to Diagon Alley, as that was their _reason_ for being there, and implying that they were wasting time. Harry then got up and asked the bartender to let him into the alley, once the brick wall had become an archway (which amazed Harry quite a bit  by itself) Harry was quite thankful that he had taken the time to familiarize himself with magic and become comfortable in his presence. Diagon Alley was completely saturated in so many different magics that Harry was sure that if he hadn’t spent the time getting himself used to the feeling of magic, that me may have passed out. It was absolutely amazing and beautiful, if a little crowded and sporadic.

As he walked into the alley, he wished that he had eight more eyes so that he could look at all of the amazing and foreign things all at once. The shops, the things outside them, even the people doing their shopping (who were dressed in the odd dress-like clothes which he had worn in the in-between place and seen young Marvolo wearing in his memories, Harry supposed that it must be the style of this world, and he loved it), it was all just so _interesting_ that he didn’t know where to look or go first!

_~Well, first you have to get your money from Gringotts, otherwise look all you want, you won’t be able to buy any of the things you need. ~_

_I have money? _Harry thought in amazement. Marvolo sighed,

_~Yes, idiot boy, you have money. Your father’s family was one of the wealthiest families in all of Wizarding Britain; nearly on par with the Blacks and the Malfoys, though not quite. Honestly child, what did you think you were going to use to pay for all of this?! ~_

_I don’t know…_ Harry thought sheepishly, _I was sort of just following what you said, you always seem to know what you’re doing…_ Being inside of the boy’s mind, Marvolo couldn’t hide his flattery at the words, if only his old followers had followed him so blindly… Nevertheless, he would not stand to be a part of a boy who was such a careless follower.

 _~Do not simply rely upon me for everything child. You have a brain, so_ use it _. ~ _Harry knew the flattery that Marvolo felt, but he also knew that he had a point, though it had surprised him a bit as no one had ever told him that before. He was always expected to do badly in school by his teachers and if he happened to do well on something then they assumed that it was a fluke. And if he ever did better than Dudley on a test or an assignment, then he was punished. If he ever did well on something, no one ever praised him for it or even acknowledged his achievement, but now he had Marvolo. Maybe if he did well on things and pleased him, then maybe Marvolo would be proud of him!

Marvolo sighed but said nothing, this was better than the boy continuing to not put effort into anything. He really wished that he had a body of his own so he could torture and murder those muggles for doing this to such a talented and gifted young wizard. They had made him so desperate for company and affection that he considered _him_ a friend, even though the sentiment was not returned in the slightest. They had made him so desperate for approval and praise that he likely would have become… That was when it hit him. The boy would have become such an approval-seeker, such a people-pleaser that he would have been incredibly easy to manipulate. This had that old man and his Order of Flaming Chickens written all over it… Though, these were just suspicions for now, he would have to wait until the boy went to Hogwarts before he could be entirely sure.

It wasn’t very hard to find Gringotts Wizarding Bank; it was a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside the grand building’s burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold was a very strange creature which Harry had never seen before. It looked almost human, but there were very distinct differences that meant it clearly wasn’t; the creature was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and very long fingers and feet, the fingers having long, sharp, pointed nails on the ends. The creature, Harry noticed, also had magic. It was a different magic than witches and wizards had, it felt completely and utterly different, yet it was still _magic_. So in a way, it was similar. He wondered what the creature was.

 _~That is a goblin. ~ _Marvolo informed him, _~They are very greedy, clever, easily irritated beings. They don’t trust very easily and they value gold above anything else. They are also not very fond of Wizards and given their track record with us, it is no wonder. Life will go much smoother for us if they like you, so repeat after me …~_

“Merry meet,” Harry greeted the goblin, repeating what Marvolo said in his head. “May your gold always flow and your enemies tremble at your feet.” the goblin looked surprised, but smiled a toothy grin, revealing sharp, pointed teeth and responded with,

“Merry met young wizard.” Before he opened the doors for him and bowed at them as they walked through. Harry bowed back per Marvolo’s instruction. Harry was now facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Harry found that he quite liked the odd poem. It was a bit dark, but it was interesting and a good way to warn against thieves. It was much more elegant than what might have been there if this was a muggle bank (if muggle banks put up warnings at all that is), it would have just been the word ‘WARNING’ in bolded letters followed by something like ‘Thieves will be prosecuted and punished’. Harry liked the elegance of the wizarding world much more.

“Merry meet,” Harry greeted two goblins who were guarding the silver doors. “May your gold always flow and your enemies tremble at your feet.” The two goblins, like the first, looked pleasantly surprised and replied,

“Merry met young wizard.” In unison, before they opened the doors for him and bowed him through. He bowed at them both before he walked through the silver doors and found himself in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Harry made his way towards a free goblin at the counter.

“Merry meet,” Harry greeted for the third time per Marvolo’s instructions, “May your gold always flow and your enemies tremble at your feet.” Now having the goblins attention, Marvolo instructed him to say, “I am Harry James Potter, the heir and future Lord of the Noble House of Potter. I would like to view my vaults and make a withdrawal.”

“Merry met Mr. Potter, may your vaults ever flow with gold.” the goblin replied, seemingly in a much better mood than the other goblins around them,

 _~Most witches and wizards do not take the time to learn the customs of beings they consider to be below them. ~ _Marvolo said. Harry didn’t like the sound of that. Goblins were intelligent magical beings and though he had only just discovered their existence mere moments before, he saw no reason to consider the being in front of him lower than himself. They both had magic, didn't they? They both thought intelligently didn't they? And if goblins were supposedly lower than wizards, then why did they work in the bank, handling all of their money? Marvolo laughed, _~So you do have a brain after all boy, good. Though I never quite saw things that way, it_ is _rather curious. ~ _Harry wondered in what way Marvolo had seen things then, _~I_ _saw everyone as equally lower than myself as I was more powerful than them. Aside from_ muggles _of_ _c_ _ourse_ _. ~_Marvolo answered, the word muggle being spoken with great distaste, _~Different beings had different purposes, and some were more distasteful or less useful than others. Goblins could be quite useful. ~_

“Do you have your key, Mr. Potter?” the goblin asked. Per Marvolo’s instructions Harry answered,

“No, I do not. Will a test of my blood suffice?” the goblin smiled a sharp, toothy grin.

“Of course Mr. Potter.” then the goblin pulled out a piece of parchment and a small silver knife. Harry did as the goblin instructed and easily cut his finger on the sharp blade, letting three drops of his blood fall onto the parchment. After the third drop had fallen, Harry watched as his blood spread across the paper, leaving behind red words as it went. When the blood was finished moving, the paper read:

_Giv_ _en Name(s): Harold Jameson_

_Surname: Potter_

_Preferred Name: Harry_

_Father: Jameson Charlus Potter_

_Mother: Lilian Linda Potter née Evans_

_Godfather: Sirius Orion Black_

_Godmother: None_

_Guardian (s): Petunia Marie Dursley née Evans_

_Birth Date: 31 July 1980_

_Death Date: 23 June 1991 | revived_

_Species: Magical Human_

_Gender: Male_

_Title (s): Boy Who Lived_

_Lord of the House(s) of: Potter, Peverell | underage_

“This looks to be all in order Mr. Potter;” the goblin said, apparently ignoring the death date. “I will have someone take you down to your vaults. Griphook!” Harry greeted this goblin like he had greeted the rest and then the pleasantly surprised goblin led Harry to a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downwards and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks towards them, both he and the goblin climbed into it and then they began hurtling through a maze of twisting passages. When the cart finally stopped beside a door in the passage wall, Harry and Griphook got out of it and the latter went up to the door, touched his finger to the lock and the door swung open. Harry wondered what the point of the goblin asking for his key at all was.

 _~The keys are just for show. ~ _Marvolo told him, _~As well as to prove ownership or trust of a vault, and to make wizards feel like they are in some way important when it comes to their gold. ~ _

_O kay, that makes sense. _Harry thought as a response. Marvolo was talking quite a lot today, he usually didn’t speak this much. It must be because they were in the magical world, Marvolo clearly loved magic a lot, though he never outright said it, it was clear that he did. Maybe he wanted Harry to love it just as much, so he explained things to him, though he really didn’t need to, Harry already loved magic whole-heartedly, though he did appreciate the explanations. He didn’t know what he would have done here if he hadn’t had Marvolo with him.

When the door of the vault was opened a lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside of the vault there were mounds and mounds of coins, most gold, while some silver and others bronze.

 _~Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. ~ _Marvolo suddenly said,

 _What?_ He thought.

_~The gold coins are Galleons, the silver, Sickles and the bronze, Knuts. There are seventeen Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle. Remember that child, I shall not be repeating myself. ~ _

_T hanks. _Harry said gratefully, still a little in shock at the amount of money that he possessed. The Dursleys couldn’t have known about this, or they’d have had it faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London…

“Would you like to visit your other vaults now, Mr. Potter?”

“Wh– I mean, excuse me?” Harry corrected at the internal glare from Marvolo.

“Your other vaults, Mr. Potter, would you like to visit them as well? However, you cannot take anything out of them until you are of age.” Harry couldn’t believe it. He had never had as much as a penny to his name, and now it turned out that he had not only this small fortune in front of him, but other vaults as well that would likely have the same amount or even more–

_~Of course it’s more, idiot boy. Were you not listening when I told you that your father’s family was one of the wealthiest in all of Wizarding Britain? Though, we have no need to visit the other vaults if we cannot take money from them, repeat after me child…~_

“No, I have no need to visit my other vaults, this will be all. May your gold increase tenfold for your services.” The goblin nodded and smiled widely at the correct usage of Goblin customs, “Thank you.” Harry himself added on the end with a smile, he found that he really liked the goblins. They were nice if you were nice to them, and seemingly very trustworthy, he could see why even Marvolo would like them. Well, no, not _like them_ , as Marvolo didn’t really seem to like anything (besides magic that is), but he certainly at least _appreciated_ them. Harry gathered some coins in his arms, realizing that he had nothing to really put it in; Marvolo told him what to say to Griphook.

“May I purchase a Feather-light Extendable Bag?”

“Of course,” Griphook replied with a toothy smile before he pulled a small brown bag out of another bag. “The cost will be taken from your vault.” He informed him before handing over the bag. Harry put his armful of coins into the bag, along with another armful as Marvolo told him that they would need more.

After the cart ride back to the entrance, Harry thanked Griphook once again before he left the bank to begin his school shopping, unaware of the odd and curious looks with he was getting from the goblins as he passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait before an update, I've been having some technical difficulties with my computer, I usually try to update every week. Thanks for all of your lovely comments in the last chapther though, I can't even tell you how much I appreciated them :) if people keep commenting like that then I can see this story going VERY far :) :) So, please leave a comment in the comment section below to tell me what you think of this chapter, and hit the Kudo button :) Also, in case you're wondering, and even if you aren't, the reason why the blood test didn't say Harry's blood status is because Goblins don't care. If you have magic, respect magic and respect the old traditions and them, then they don't care. Besides, what really counts as 'Half-blood' or 'Pure-blood' any way?
> 
> Next chapter, Harry meets someone in Diagon Alley... Three guesses who! You might be surprised :) Then again, you might not be, leave a comment containing your guess :)


	6. Books and Houses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon Dursley is a bastard and killed Harry. In the in-between place Harry met his mother who told him about the Wizarding world and the Wizarding war. 'They' didn't want Harry dead, so he came back to life with a few differences. He is now stronger and Marvolo now talks to him. Harry's life has been much better since he threatened the Dursleys, he's started learning wandless magic, discovered that he is a magic sensitive and he has just gone to Diagon Alley. He learned about Goblins and learned some goblin customs. Now it's time to start his shopping, but he's going to meet someone while he's there... Who could it be??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains prejudice, bashing and idiocy.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ ___

The first thing that Harry got was the first on his list, his Hogwarts uniform. It turned out that the dress-like clothes that were worn in this world were called robes.  Marvolo directed Harry to a shop called ‘Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions’ where he was fitted for his robes by a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.  She was finished with it much faster than Harry had expected; then again, maybe he should have expected it, this was a magical shop after all. Harry then paid for it and put it in his bag.

Next on Harry’s list was a rather long list of book titles, so Harry headed towards a book shop called ‘Flourish and Blott’s’. Before he had gotten there, however, Harry noticed a small crowd of people.  Although Marvolo told Harry not to get distracted, he was curious about what was apparently so very fascinating. When Harry walked up to the front of the crowd, he saw that they were all looking at a broomstick, though it was like no other broomstick Harry had ever seen before. It was sleek and shiny with the bristles all neatly brought together, ending in a point, there was a gold band keeping the bristles on the sleek and shiny wood and at end of the wood was written in golden elegant lettering, ‘Nimbus 2000’. Harry was starting to understand why witches and wizards flew on these, they were beautiful.

“Move.” was all the warning Harry got before the owner of the voice pushed him out of the way and went right up to the broomstick, his face pressed against the glass. The boy who had nearly pushed him to the ground was quite a bit taller than him, though he looked around the same age. He was rather gangly looking, had a long nose and bright red hair. Harry stared at him a bit incredulously, he didn’t even know him and he had almost pushed him onto the ground without even apologizing. It reminded him of what Dudley had done when they had gone to the zoo, and really, there’s not much difference between ‘move’ and ‘out of the way, you’.

“Oh, hi.” the boy said when he noticed his staring, “Will you be going to Hogwarts too?”

“Yes.” said Harry, a little miffed that the boy still hadn’t apologized for nearly knocking him to the ground, and it didn’t seem like he was going to. Harry noticed that he boy’s magic was a little bit below average.

"Do you have your own broom?” the boy asked,

“No.” Harry said.

“I do,” the boy said, quite pompously, “It’s not very good though, just Charlie’s old Shooting Star. It never flies straight and it’s really hard to handle, I’m used to it though.” Then he paused for a second, looking down as a red blush touched his ears. He seemed to think he’d said too much. Then after the second had passed, he asked, “Do you play Quidditch at all?”

“No.” Harry answered, making a mental note to ask Marvolo what Quidditch was next the time he spoke up, he wasn’t very happy that Harry was wasting time and likely wouldn’t talk to him again for a while, or at least until he stopped wasting time.

“I do sometimes with Fred and George, they always cheat though, so it’s not even fun. What’s your favourite Quidditch team?”

“I don’t know any…” Harry answered, feeling increasingly stupid as the conversation continued,

“Oh,” the boy said, “Well, mine is the Chudley Canons. They’re a great team, even though everyone says they’re not because they haven’t won in years. They’ve just had a lot of bad luck is all.”

“Oh.” Harry said, as he really didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Know what house you’ll be in when you get to Hogwarts?” the boy asked as he went back to staring at the broomstick.

“No,” Harry said, feeling quite out of place in this conversation and increasingly embarrassed and stupid by the minute.

“Well, I guess no one really knows until they get there, but I know I’ll be in Gryffindor. All of my family has been for generations! Plus all of my brothers are in it – imagine being in Hufflepuff though!  I think I’d just die of embarrassment, wouldn’t you?”

“Mmm,” said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.

“But at least that would be better than being in _Slytherin_. Only Dark Wizards and evil people go there. That’s the house that You-Know-Who was in, you know! I think that everyone sorted into Slytherin should just be sent straight to Azkaban, and then we wouldn’t have any more evil people. They’ll all probably grow up to do evil things anyway, so they should just arrest them before they can do anything bad at all.”

 _Arrest them??_ He thought incredulously; Harry wasn’t sure what these houses were or what sorting was, but he didn’t think that just being sorted into one of them should get them _arrested_. And Harry was quite sure that the boy was talking about people their age… After Harry hadn’t answered him, the boy glared at him suspiciously and said,

“What? You’re not from one of those dark families are you? What’s your last name?” but before Harry could answer, both he and the boy each had their shoulders grabbed from behind by two identical boys with very similar magic, Harry flinched greatly at the sudden contact.  He had never felt two magics so similar before, though considering that he had only felt another’s magic for the first time today, that wasn’t really saying much. They were slightly older than them and had red hair like the boy he’d been talking to, he wondered if they were related.

“Our dear brother hasn’t been giving you any trouble, has he?” asked the twin that had grabbed Harry’s shoulders, answering his question for him.

“Would you like us to take care of him for you?” the one that had grabbed the other boy’s shoulders asked, giving the boy a wicked grin.

“Geroff!” the boy said as he twisted away from the boy holding him, bumping into someone standing near him in the little crowd.

“Tut tut tut, Ronikins.” said the twin holding Harry, “You should apologize when you bump into people.” The boy just glared at him.

“Anyway, Ron, we just came to tell you that Mum says we’re going to get our books now.” Then he looked over at Harry, “You can come too if you’d like.” Harry smiled, even though he’d only just met them, he quite liked these twins.

“Sure.” He said with a smile.

“Brilliant,” said the two together, then the one who had previously been holding Ron said. “I’m Fred Weasley by the way, and that handsome man behind you is George.” After he had said that, George came out from behind him and smiled.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, “I’m Harry Potter.” but he regretted saying it immediately afterwards as all three of the red-head’s eyes opened wide and their jaws dropped.  And those around them in the small crowd stopped their chatter for a second before beginning to whisper and point at him. Harry knew that he was famous, but he hadn’t expected that kind of a reaction…

“Are you really?!” Ron, the younger ginger blurted out. He nodded. “Have you really got – you know…” and pointed at Harry’s forehead. Marvolo had told him that he had gotten his lightening scar the night that he had tried to kill him and failed. He supposed that the scar must be famous as well… He lifted up his fringe to show it to him. The boy just stared, gawking at it, as though he was in awe. The whispering of the surrounding crowd grew suddenly more urgent and rushed and the pointing and staring increased. Harry decided that he didn’t like being looked at like this…

After he had lifted up his hair Fred and George seemed to come back to themselves, and Fred swatted his younger brother in the back of the head,

“Sorry about him.” Fred said,

“Apparently he doesn’t have any proper manors.” continued George, who then also swatted his brother in the back of the head.  Ron tried to retaliate, but George moved out of the way so he missed and nearly fell over.

“Anyway, we’d best get going or our Mum’s going to have our heads.” The Twins then lead Harry and Ron to Flourish and Blott’s, oddly enough the exact place that he’d been heading to next. He didn’t particularly like Ron, who kept asking him questions about Voldemort, or as he put it ‘You-Know-Who’, but he really liked the twins who kept swatting him in the head when he asked. Harry found it quite strange how Ron now seemed much fonder of him now that he knew who he was.

_~The boy is likely looking to befriend you only for your fame to better himself. I would say that it’s almost Slytherin, if the boy had any tact or cunning whatsoever, which it appears he does not.~_

_Y ou’re back!_ Harry thought happily.

 _~Of course I am, idiot boy. Just look at the mess you’ve gotten yourself into without me, do you really need me to guide you through everything?~_ Before Harry could respond to the obvious jab, they walked into the shop and met a plump woman with red hair and incredibly fiery and explosive magic, despite her sweet, motherly appearance.  She exclaimed,

“Oh, there you boys are! Took you long enough.” then she paused for a moment before she said, “And who’s this?”

“It’s Harry Potter, Mum!” Ron blurted out, “The _real_ Harry Potter! He’s got the scar and everything!” then they heard a high-pitched shriek before a little girl’s voice said,

“Where?! Where is he?? I want to see him!” then a little redheaded girl, who Harry assumed was the younger sister of Ron, Fred and George, who had the same sort of fiery and explosive magic as her mother, came running up to them and said, “Where is he Mummy? Where’s Harry Potter??”

“Now Ginny, Ron,” the plump woman said calmly, though her tone and magic were starting to become a bit threatening. “That is not the way to act when you first meet someone; I raised you better than this.”

“But Mum, it’s–” Ron began, but his mother interrupted him,

“Yes, yes, I know it’s Harry Potter, but would you look at the poor boy’s face?  He doesn’t need all of this hassle.  Now the both of you, apologize.” Ron grumbled out a small apology, but as soon as the little girl, Ginny had looked up at him, she had blushed and run away back into the bookshelves. Harry had never met such a strange family… Though he supposed that being strange was far better than being ‘normal’ like his aunt’s family, though he still didn’t like Ron very much. “Hello dear,” the woman said sweetly, turning to Harry, “I apologize for my daughter’s behaviour, she’s just a little over excited about meeting you.” Harry nodded.

“That’s alright.” He said.

“So where’s Percy?” asked one of the twins,

“Oh, he’s gone to Madam Malkin’s to get some new robes.”

“How come Percy gets new robes?” the other twin asked, quite indignantly.

“Because he’s a prefect,” their mother said fondly, “If you two would do better in school instead of fooling around all the time, then maybe one of you could become prefect as well.”

“We don’t care about becoming prefects.” The first twin said,

“Well you _should,_ ” their mother said firmly, “At the very least you should focus on your schoolwork more. How do you ever expect to get jobs in the Ministry with the marks the two of you get? You’re barely passing!”

“We don’t want jobs in the Ministry, Mum.”

“Nonsense.” Their mother replied before turning back to Ron and asking for his book list. The twins meanwhile turned to him and said together, with big smiles on their faces,

“We’ll help you get your books Harry.” If he wasn’t a magic sensitive, then Harry wouldn’t have had any doubt that the Twins were completely unaffected by their mother. But he _was_ magic sensitive, and he could feel in their magics a sort of sadness, though it wasn’t sadness exactly. It was a much deeper rooted feeling than that, which spoke of familiarity and lack of belonging and a feeling of worthlessness paired with a feeling of wanting to achieve greater and prove themselves. Harry was quite baffled by the feeling, and a part of him wanted to go far away from the Twins in order to stop feeling what they were feeling deep in their magics, while another part of him wanted to comfort them. In the end, he did neither and simply followed them to the bookshelves to find his books.

After the Twins had shown him where to find the books on his list, Marvolo instructed him to get a few more, mostly on the history of the Wizarding world, as he claimed that he was ‘tired of having to constantly teach such an idiot about the simplest things in the magical world’. Though he also made sure to tell him that, like any history book (magical or otherwise), it would be biased. Especially when it came to the recount of the war, as it was always the winning side who wrote the history books and the losing side was always portrayed as villains. Regardless of the horrors that either side committed in the war or what either side stood for, the losers would be the villains and the winners would be the valiant heroes who saved the day. Harry made sure to keep that in mind for when he read the books, but he knew that Marvolo too, was quite biased to his own side, being the previous leader of it.  So he supposed that it would be useful to see the other side of the war, and maybe between the books and Marvolo he could find out what _actually_ happened, as even his mother hadn’t been entirely sure.

While getting the books, the Weasley Twins talked all about Hogwarts. They told him that they were pranksters who enjoyed using their own inventions to play hilarious pranks on people.  They told him that they played the game that Ron had mentioned before called ‘Quidditch’, and when Harry embarrassedly told them that he didn’t know what it was, they explained it to him with great enthusiasm.  When Harry grabbed an extra History book, per what Marvolo said, they told him that that was smart if he actually wanted to learn something, as the History teacher (who was apparently an actual _ghost_ ) was incredibly boring and only really talked about goblin and giant wars and apparently touched a little bit on witch burnings, though they themselves hadn’t been taught that yet.  They told him about someone called Snape, who was their Potions teacher that was apparently reminiscent of a giant bat and how he’s the person that they would really like to prank the most because he was always so grumpy and miserable, but as of yet haven’t, as they would fear for their lives if they did.

Once Harry and the Weasleys had gotten all of their books and paid for them, the mother, Mrs. Weasley as he had dubbed her, turned to him sadly and told him that though it was wonderful meeting him, that they really must be going home. Harry nodded in acknowledgement. The young girl, Ginny, hid behind her mother until they had left the shop. The Twins gave him a simultaneous,

“See ya, Harry!” and identical waves before following after their mother. And Ron told him that he would see him at school and that he hopes that he’ll be in Gryffindor with him because it’s the best house in the whole school. Harry still didn’t know what the houses were exactly, though based on the context, he assumed now that it was the same or similar to the house system used in muggle boarding schools to separate the students and create healthy competition.  He had heard his aunt and uncle discussing it not too long ago, as Petunia had brought up sending her precious ‘Diddy Duddidums’ to a prestigious boarding school, while Vernon had argued saying that Dudley would be going to Smeltings Academy, as that was where he had gone.

However, from the way Ron was talking before, Harry didn’t think the competition there was healthy at all. He would have to ask Marvolo about it later as he still had many things left on his list to get, and he could feel Marvolo getting quite annoyed with him. Though mixed in with the annoyance, was a feeling of praise, and though he knew that the soul piece would never own up to it, he knew that he was right about ‘Gryffindor’ and ‘Slytherin’ and ‘Hufflepuff’ being names of houses in the Hogwarts house system, and Marvolo was proud that he had used his mind and figured that out, all on his own.

As Harry walked to the next shop, there was a smile on his face and a skip in his step that hadn’t been there before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter or this story in general then please leave Kudos and/or a comment below to let me know that my writing is not in vain :) Or just let me know what you think :) I always love to hear from readers :) 
> 
> So, the mystery person was Ronald Weasley! I wanted to show Harry the other side of the prejudice that he saw with Draco in canon, and who better to totally hate on Slytherins than Ron Weasley... The twins are pretty awesome though, and you'll be seeing more of them in the future :) Next chapter will be the last chapter dealing with Diagon Alley and the last of Harry's shopping, including everything else that he has yet to get :) I hope you'll come again to read it when it's updated :)


	7. The Curious Wand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon killed Harry and then Harry met his mother in the In-between place, but he also met Marvolo who he saved from being stuck there by hugging him. Now Marvolo lives in his head and teaches him about magic and stuff in the wizarding world that he doesn't understand. He just recently got his letter and went to Diagon Alley, he's already got his robes and his books as well as a magical goblin-made bag to keep his stuff in. He also met Ron (who he really doesn't like because he's a little prick), the twins (who he really likes because they're awesome), Mrs. Weasley (who he kind of likes, but doesn't approve of her dashing the twins' dream) and Ginny (who he really doesn't like or think much of because she just screams his name, blushes and runs away). Now Harry has to get the rest of his stuff, what unexpected surprises will await him in the magical stores?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains intense descriptions of magic.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ ___

The next shop that Harry had gone to was ‘Potage’s Cauldron Shop’ to get his cauldron. Harry wanted to get the solid gold cauldron as he thought it looked a lot nicer than all of the others (it even had an engraving of a dragon on the front!) and he had the money now, so he could buy it if he wanted to. But Marvolo told him not to as a gold cauldron (unlike pewter, copper or brass) affects the potion inside of it. While for some potions it makes them far more potent, it can ruin others or even make them potentially dangerous. He then told Harry that if he didn’t want to get a pewter cauldron like it said on his list, then he could always get a brass or copper cauldron and it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Although his Potion’s Professor may not be entirely pleased that he didn’t get the kind of cauldron that he specified.

Remembering what the Weasley twins had said about the Potions teacher Snape, Harry chose to get the usual pewter cauldron. He didn’t want the apparently grumpy Professor to take a disliking to him on the first day just because he’d been stubborn and decided to get a different cauldron. Harry paid fifteen Galleons for the cauldron before putting it into his little bag to join his robes and books, though he wasn’t entirely sure how he had even gotten it in there. As soon as he had it near the opening of the bag, it just seemed to fit right in without any help at all. As if it _wasn’t_ over a foot tall and just as equally round.

 _~It’s Goblin Magic.~_ Marvolo explained, _~Not only is it feather-light and extendable, but it also has the goblin equivalent to an automatic shrinking charm on it, which automatically affects anything that the owner wants to put into the bag. Goblin Magic, like any other kind of magic, is all about will. Willing something to happen, wanting it to happen, so that when you reach into that bag and want a certain book, it will come right up into your hand.~_

 _That’s so_ cool _!_ Harry thought and Marvolo chuckled, actually _chuckled_! He gave Harry an internal glare, but he paid it no mind as he headed off to the next shop.

At 'Hebes and Bliteus' Parchment and Ink' Harry bought some quills (as for some reason wizards preferred to write with feathers instead of pens and pencils). Along with a good amount of parchment (wizards made what they wrote on out of animals instead of trees) and ink (since unlike with a pen, the feather didn't just come with it). Harry knew that he would have to make sure to practice writing with them before he got to Hogwarts. The last thing he needed was for his teachers to all think he was stupid because he left inkblots all over his homework just because he wasn't used to writing with a feather.

At 'Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment' Harry got a set of brass scales for three Galleons, a set of crystal phials (as Marvolo said that they would be better than the glass ones and were only four Galleons more) for seven Galleons, and a telescope set for eight Galleons.

Next Harry went to ‘Slug and Jigger’s Apothecary’ for his potion’s ingredients. There were brass scales and crystal vials here as well, but Marvolo said that it was easier and cheaper to get them in the other shop. Harry shrugged his shoulders and then went up to the man behind the counter and asked for a large supply of basic potions ingredients As well as a couple other things that Marvolo said he should get, and some things that Marvolo admitted that he himself just wanted.  While he was not a Potions Master, nor was it his favourite subject, he did have some interest in it, especially when it came to experimentation.  Harry didn’t see any harm in letting Marvolo experiment through him, after all, he had helped Harry a lot and he didn’t have a body of his own with which to do it, and really, being in his head all the time must get pretty dull sometimes, especially for a previously all powerful Dark Lord.

Now Harry only had two things left to get; his wand and an owl with which to send a response to Hogwarts. Marvolo said that he found it ridiculous that they expected a reply only by owl and yet they had sent Harry a letter through the mail. He then remarked something about at least having ‘the old fool’ come to him personally to explain things instead of just merely sending a letter. That remark got Harry to thinking, both to who ‘the old fool’ was, and to why someone wasn’t sent to explain all of this to him. They couldn’t have known that he had Marvolo in his head, and if he hadn’t then he never would have known about how to even get to the Leaky Cauldron! It wasn’t like they had attached a map to the letter. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he had actually _died_ , then he wouldn’t have even known about magic or the fact that he was a wizard at all!

Then suddenly, a thought occurred to Harry, a truly terrible thought. If the Wizarding world hated Voldemort, therefore hated Marvolo and celebrated his downfall, then what would they think knowing that he had a piece of him living in his head?! They’d probably try to kill him! Or at the very least try to kill Marvolo… and given the fact that he never would have even known about how to get to Diagon Alley or anything else if it wasn’t for him, how would they think he had found out about any of it? Would they find out about Marvolo?!

In his internal panic, a far more terrible thought than the last occurred to him. Marvolo had told him many times that anything was possible with magic, no matter what people say. That you only need the proper will and dedication and anything could be possible. If truly _anything_ could be possible with magic, then did that mean that mind reading was possible?? What if someone read his mind and found out about Marvolo?! In his head, Harry could feel a contemplative silence from Marvolo, until he said,

 _~Your panicking is unnecessary, though you do bring up some rather valid points…~_ Harry grinned, that was as close to a compliment as Marvolo had ever given him! _~I may have made a minor… miscalculation. You will need to return to Flourish and Blott’s before we get your owl and wand, I have a solution to this problem. Although, this solution will be dependent upon your magic and your will, so be prepared for a difficult and laborious month.~_

Harry was quite confused by Marvolo’s words, but followed his instructions anyway. At Flourish and Blott’s, Marvolo had Harry pick up five books, all of which had to do with either Legilimency or Occlumency. Harry remembered that his mother had briefly mentioned them while he had been dead, but she hadn’t really said all that much about them other than to mention them. He supposed that Marvolo would explain later as he didn’t seem like he would be explaining now.  So after putting the books inside of his bag, Harry headed to ‘Eeylop’s Owl Emporium’.

The shop was dark and the sounds of rustling and hooting could be heard, and all around him was the flickering of dozens of pairs of jewel-bright eyes. Harry wondered why it has to be so dark in the shop. How’s he ever supposed to pick an owl if he can barely see them? But then Harry remembered that Marvolo said that owls were magical creatures, so after saying ‘hello’ to the shop owner and declining his offer of help, he walked into the middle of the shop and closed his eyes, focusing on the magic of the owls.

The owls’ magics spoke of intelligence and many of them, of annoyance. However, among the owls, one of their magics stood out among the rest. And it wasn’t because its magic spoke of more intelligence, or because it spoke of a greater annoyance (though it did speak of both), nor was it because the owl’s magic just seemed so much stronger. Harry wasn’t quite sure what it was that drew him to the snowy owl with bright, intelligent amber eyes, but something about her was… different. Though there were many obvious things about her that made her different, her greater magical presence, her greater intelligence, her far greater annoyance, even her appearance was entirely different from the others as there was not a single other snowy owl in the entire shop. Harry wasn’t sure what had drawn him to her; all he knew was that something in her magic had called out to his own, and who was he to ignore the will of magic?

After he had purchased her, Marvolo told him to put her in his bag, saying that she would be fine in there, as the bag was actually quite spacious and that she wouldn’t be jostled at all by the movement of the bag itself, plus owls liked the dark. Conceding, Harry placed his new owl as gently as possible into his bag, he felt slightly guilty, but Marvolo said that she would be fine, so he tried to put it out of his mind. He then made his way to the very last stop on his journey through the magical world; Ollivander’s. It was finally time for him to get his wand, and he was truly quite excited for it.

As Harry entered the shop, a tinkling of a bell rang somewhere in its depths as he stepped inside. The moment that he did, he immediately needed to step out again. Only a mere second in the shop had made him feel feint and nauseous at the same time. Harry took a deep breath before he walked back into the shop again, the tinkling bell sounding once more in the depths of the shop. Harry closed his eyes tightly and tried to breathe evenly as it felt like every one of his pours was invaded by magics of so many different types that it was impossible to count them all. While to his ears, the shop seemed eerily silent; to his magic it was far too loud.

There were thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling and each of them seemed to be whispering in a whisper that only his magic could hear. And yet the whispers affected his magic like screeches and screams would affect the ears, and his skin felt as though it was being pricked in every possible place by tiny little needles of magic. All of these feelings seemed to be coming from the boxes, which Harry could only assume contained the wands.

“Good afternoon.” said a soft voice, and Harry’s eyes immediately flew open, he hadn’t felt anyone else in the room… Despite the fact that his magic was telling him that there shouldn’t be anyone there, standing before him was an old man with disheveled white hair and wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. The lack of presence from the man was somehow even more nauseating than the whispering of the wands.

“Hi.” Harry said quickly. He knew that he was probably being rude, but he didn’t trust himself to open his mouth for more than a second right now.

The man, whom he assumed was Ollivander, didn’t say anything else to him; instead he just stared at him and moved a bit closer. Harry wished that he would back away, or blink, or _something_.

“Ah yes,” the man finally said after a few minutes of simply staring at him. “Yes, yes. I thought I’d be seeing you soon. Harry Potter.” It wasn’t a question, and if Harry wasn’t fighting the urge to pass out or puke on the man’s shoes, then he may have wondered how he could possibly know his name from just looking at him. “You have your mother’s eyes.  It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work… Yes… But you have more in common with your mother than just your eyes. She too was a magic sensitive, though not quite to the extent which you seem to be, Mr. Potter.”

“How do you know that?” Harry said, all in a rush so that he could once again shut his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly for a moment, before opening them again to see Ollivander even closer to him than he was before. He gasped and backed away slightly.

“Well it’s rather obvious from your reaction to the wands… and to myself. My family has been working with wands for generations. Some of us go so deeply into the study of wand lore that we… melt right into magic herself. It’s become a sort of family magic. To magic sensitives like yourself, it would appear as though we don’t exist at all.” Harry nodded in acknowledgement to what he said. “Your father, unlike your mother, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches, pliable, a little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it – it’s really the wand that chooses the wizard of course.” Harry wondered why he had told him that, and then Ollivander came up so close to him that he could see himself reflected in those misty, silver eyes. Their noses almost touching.

“As you are a magic sensitive, I have no need to go through the normal procedure with you… no… you can reach out with your magic and find the wand that chooses you yourself. Go on. Reach out…” Harry closed his eyes and did as Ollivander said. He reached out his magic, which he usually kept contained within himself. His magic rejoiced at being let out so freely swirling and dancing around him as it searched for another magic that would call to him... It reminded him of how he had found his owl, she had called to him. Harry wondered if Wizards ever really chose anything if their wands and pets are the ones that chose _them_.

He spread his magic throughout the shop, searching for the wand that would be his. Some of the wands seemed to reach out to him as well, but the moment their magics touched, they rejected him. Harry stood in the middle of the shop, eyes closed and searching with his magic for many minutes. He didn’t know that Ollivander was looking at him with a kind of morbid fascination as his magic whipped around the shop, causing his unruly hair to whip around and an odd green glow to envelop his body. He didn’t know what he looked like with his magic free around him, and maybe that was a good thing.

Then suddenly, he found it. His magic touched that of a wand and it didn’t reject him. It embraced him completely. His eyes snapped open; unbeknownst to him they were glowing vividly, dangerously green behind his glasses, filled with his magic. He walked towards the source of the magic that had accepted him. He grabbed the box it had come from, opened it and pulled out his wand. The moment that he touched it, he felt as though he had found a missing part of himself that he hadn’t even realized he had been lacking. It sent a very warm and comfortable feeling throughout his body. The magics of the other wands now no longer affected him like they had before. His magic had found its match and was satisfied. And the other wands in the shop now seemed contented that he had found his match and were leaving him alone. He turned to the now slightly cowering Ollivander and said,

“This is it. This is my wand.” Ollivander’s misty eyes stared at the wand and slowly coming out of his cower, he stated,

“Unusual combination… Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple… The wood and the core are notoriously difficult to pair together, and for it to have chosen you… Oh.” Ollivander said suddenly, he seemed to have realized something. “How curious… How very curious…”

“Sorry,” Harry said, “But, what’s curious?” the old man fixed Harry with his unblinking pale stare as he said,

“I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix, whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather – just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand, when its brother, why, its brother gave you that scar.” Harry almost laughed,

 _Marvolo,_ he thought, _My wand is the brother wand to your old wand!_

 _~Yes, I heard.~_ he replied. This was truly a revelation indeed… How was this boy meant to vanquish him if he possessed a wand that wouldn’t work against his own?!  With _Priori Incantatem_ getting in the way every time, the only option would have been for one of them to have used a different wand.

“Yes,” Ollivander continued, “Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew, a very powerful wood, said to endow its possessor with the power of life and death… very curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great.” Marvolo gave a cruel laugh inside of his mind, and Harry was tempted to join him, it was kind of funny that the person he was talking about, if only a part, was currently residing in the mind of the boy in front of him. But then he remembered that one of those terrible things was killing his parents. And likely a lot of other people too, so he didn’t. It wouldn’t be right for him to laugh at that, it would be incredibly disrespectful.  Besides, it would probably freak Ollivander out.

After paying seven gold Galleons for his wand, Ollivander bowed him from the shop. In his rush to get out of the store, he didn’t bow back. He was incredibly glad to be out of there. Putting his wand into his bag with the rest of his things and his owl, Harry headed back to the Leaky Cauldron and then took the Tube back to Surrey, taking a bus the rest of the way back to Little Whinging. He didn’t want to go back, and the sudden lack of magic when he left the dingy pub was quite disconcerting, but it had been quite a long day and though it was still quite early in the afternoon, he was beginning to become tired.

When he got back to the Dursley’s house he raided their fridge and pantry, making himself a sandwich and getting a glass of milk. Once he’d finished he washed his plate and cup before heading up to his room. He pulled his owl’s cage out of the little bag and put her by his window in the light. He then got to work writing his letter to Dumbledore, taking what Marvolo told him had to be in the letter into great consideration with what he wrote. Then he sent the letter off with his new snowy owl, and as it was still light out he decided to read his books. When it began to get dark, he placed his book on the small side-table next to the head of his bed, along with his glasses and tucked himself into bed. He was quite exhausted by then and he hoped that this night’s sleep would be a pleasant one, free of nightmares…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I really hoped that you liked this chapter :) If you enjoyed it or even if you didn't then please leave a comment below in the comment section, and if you enjoyed it then please leave kudos. I really love reading and answering comments, so I'd love to give a really big thank you to everyone who left a comment on the last chapter, I was honestly and truly surprised at the amount of feedback that the chapter received and I can only hope that this and other chapters will do the same :)
> 
> Now, in case you were wondering and even if you weren't, I invented 'Hebes and Bliteus' Parchment and Ink' as they never say in the books where Harry gets his parchment, ink and quills from, but they don't exactly appear out of nowhere, do they? There's a quill shop in Hogsmead, but it never mentions one in Diagon Alley, but there must be one, so I made one up. And 'Hebes and Bliteus' means 'Dull and Tasteless' in Latin, I thought that it was fitting for a store that sells parchment and ink. Next chapter we see Harry's progress with learning Occlumency and get a little look into the mind of the manipulative old fool, Albus Dumbledore himself! Hope you'll come to read again in a week :)


	8. Mind Magics and Manipulative Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon killed Harry, he died and met his mother and she told him lots of stuff. He met Marvolo, felt bad for him and now they share a body and a soul. He became more powerful, threatened the Dursleys to get him to stop hurting him and he got his letter to Hogwarts. He went to Diagon Alley, met like half the Weasleys, got some books, his stuff, a beautiful snowy owl, and his holly and phoenix feather wand, which is brother to Marvolo's, isn't that lovely! Harry became worried that people would be able to read his mind because Marvolo told him that magic could do anything and so Marvolo gets him to go back to Flourish and Blott's and buy some books on Occlumency and Legilimency. When Harry gets back to the Dursley's, he writes a letter to Dumbledore explaining 'how he knows about magic'. How will Dumbledore react to this?? And how is Harry's Occlumency training coming along?? Read this chapter to find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of child abuse, child neglect and the greater good.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words._

Harry Potter awoke on the 28th of August in a cold sweat and with a painfully stabbing headache. Both of which were completely normal to him at this point. The cold sweat was the only physical evidence of the nightmare he had just had. This one had involved him flying on the shiny broomstick which he had seen in Diagon Alley over a month ago, but then the broom had disappeared and he was suddenly falling and falling, not being able to do anything to stop himself. Until that is, he spotted a very, very large version of his cousin Dudley, who then opened his disgusting mouth very wide and swallowed him, at which point he had woken up. It was one of his better nightmares to be honest, and all together rather silly when compared with the one he’d had only the other night. In that one he had been chained to a wall, helpless and unable to move, while his uncle beat him with a belt, telling him that he would never ever leave. He would never make any friends or visit the magical world again and he would most definitely never be going to Hogwarts.

The headache however, was remnant of the Occlumency training that he had done with Marvolo the night before. As he would be going to Hogwarts in two days, he needed to make sure that his mental shields were completely secure, lest the Headmaster or another nosy professor discover that a part of Voldemort’s soul had taken up residence in his brain. He always had a headache after such training sessions, and Marvolo had told him that it was likely because he was so young. Even though his magic and will were completely capable of normal Occlumency with just a little bit of practice, which they had discovered, much to Marvolo’s almost completely masked surprise, a few days after they had begun the practical sessions of Harry’s training.

The first few days Harry had just been instructed to read the books and grasp the theory of both Occlumency and Legilimency. He needed to understand how they worked, and Marvolo was very hard-put to drill into his head that Legilimency was not mind  _reading_. After all, the mind is not a book that can simply be read. Rather, the Legilimens can view memories or sometimes pick up on impulses or feelings. The more talented Legilimens can sometimes pick up on the surface thoughts of a person. At this point, Harry had still been convinced that Legilimency was still just mind reading, like he had seen characters do in Dudley’s shows on the telly sometimes. That is until Marvolo explained to him, rather irritated, that a person’s mind is not like a book that one can read, because while a book has words that have clearly defined meanings, a person’s mind is not so defined. Every mind is different in the way that it functions, the brain patterns worked in different ways for everyone, and while the Legilimens may be able to view memories or pick up on thoughts, these are not always entirely clear. The memories are being seen through the individual’s eyes and the thoughts are the way that the individual thinks. As every individual thinks and sees things differently, it is often up to the Legilimens to interpret what they have observed, and their interpretations are not always entirely accurate. Especially if the individual is not willing to have their mind invaded.

Once Marvolo was fairly certain that Harry had grasped the theories of the mind magics, he had started the practical sessions. During these, he would try to break into Harry’s mind. Which was quite odd as the man was inside his mind already, but he had stated that although he was inside of his mind, their minds were separate from each other as they were two separate beings, and they could block each other out if they wanted to. It was then that Harry realized why Marvolo could always hear his thoughts and why he could only hear Marvolo when the soul piece spoke directly to him. Marvolo had then smirked at him internally, not telling him whether he was right or wrong, but Harry knew that he was right. The first few times had been quite difficult for two reasons, the first being that theory and practice were two entirely different things and it took a while for him to become used to the feeling. It was as though he was training muscles that he had never before used and didn’t even know he had possessed, he was bound to be a little bit clumsy about it. The second reason was that he was so used to Marvolo simply always being there in his mind for the past month and a bit that it felt very  _wrong_  to shut him out. He had eventually pushed the feeling away though, as he wanted more than anything to make Marvolo proud of him.

After Harry had pushed away the feeling and gotten used to using his mind and magic in a way that he never had before, he was practically a natural at it. It had only taken a little over a week for him to perfect his defences, his impenetrable wall around his mind and thoughts and memories. With a little door added of course so that Marvolo could come in if he pleased, and the door would  _only_  work for him. Harry could lock it though, if he wanted to, as well as fling the soul piece through it.

For the first time  _ever_  Marvolo praised him for his efforts. It was the first bit of praise that he had ever received in his entire  _life_ , and he quite liked it, developed a  _taste_  for it, if you will. Although to most people it wouldn’t seem like praise at all, just a sarcastic confirmation and acknowledgement, Harry knew that it was the absolute  _best_  that he would ever get out of Marvolo. Needless to say, he was ecstatic after that, and even more determined to make Marvolo proud of him. However, when Marvolo had acknowledged his success and said that even Dumbledore wouldn’t be able to get a single thought from him, it made Harry realize that there was a big problem with that…

If he was supposed to be just a normal boy and arouse no suspicion of there being a soul piece in his head, then what would the Headmaster think if he  _did_  try to use Legilimency on him (ignoring the legal issues about using it on a minor), what would he think when he found he couldn’t find anything and that he had incredibly strong defences??

It was then that Harry himself had come up with an idea. An incredibly wild idea that Marvolo initially brushed off as the wild imaginings of a child, as no one had ever accomplished such a thing before. Not himself, Dumbledore or even Severus, his spy and an Occlumens who rivalled even his own skills in the art, had ever even thought of attempting such a thing, never mind succeeding. But succeed the boy did, and Marvolo reprimanded himself, as he knew better than most that magic truly had no restrictions other than those thought of by men and those inflicted upon them due to their own blatant lack of power.

Harry had thought that maybe, just maybe, he could make it  _seem_  like Dumbledore and anyone else could use Legilimency on him and break into his mind, while keeping the fact that he had protections a secret. It was a wild idea, yes, but a child’s imagination was unstoppable, and Harry was powerful enough that he was able to achieve his idea. He had created a sort of ‘other version’ of his own mind. He selected certain memories that would be okay for people to see, even creating a few himself, ensuring that some were very nice while others were terribly embarrassing. None of them showed any kind of abuse at all other than the fact that he had lived in a cupboard and his relative’s general dislike of him, as those were things that could be clearly seen if one were to just walk into the house.

Harry had also created different trains of thought that normal eleven year old boys would have that he would have running at the unprotected part of his mind at all times while around people who could invade his mind, or simply skim it for thoughts. Harry thought of them as something like Dudley’s computer programs, he had already created them and now they could run all on their own. He only had about ten of them at that point, but he created a new one every single night, sometimes even two if he was lucky. This was the cause of Harry’s headaches. While he was perfectly capable of regular Occlumency, his own hybrid of the magic was incredibly taxing on his mind, body and magic. This adding to the fact that Marvolo had insisted on testing his defences the night before, left him with a headache that wouldn’t go away no matter what he did.

The boy gave a small smile to Hedwig, his snowy owl. He had named her after St. Hedwig, a Polish witch from the 12th century. He’d found the name in his  _History of Magic_  book and he found that he quite liked it and that it suited the intelligent owl. Hedwig seemed to agree. When he smiled at her, she gave him a hoot and a piercing look, letting him know that she wanted out of her cage. No one else in the house could hear the hoot because Harry had learned how to create a sort of insulating bubble with his magic to keep the sound in. Harry stood up, holding his aching head in his hands as he opened Hedwig’s cage and let the beautiful owl fly out the window. He then slowly made his way back to his bed and lay back down, utterly exhausted despite the fact that he had gotten much more sleep than he usually did.

When Marvolo had said that this was going to be a ‘difficult and laborious month’, that had been a bit of an understatement. When he needed a break from working on his mental shields and mental disguise, Marvolo had him practice using his magic again. Now he could do a lot more than just summon things to him and make things float; he could create bubbles of insulation to keep sound contained, he could somewhat control the flow of small amounts of water, and create a small flame on his fingertips, about the size of that of a lighter’s. He could slow down the descent of something as it fell, including himself. He almost felt like he was floating when he did that, but no, he was just falling at a slower speed. Marvolo called it slowing the momentum. Magic was absolutely  _amazing_.

However, Harry hadn’t yet gotten to use his wand because Marvolo was worried about the trace. The Ministry (in its ignorance) completely ignores all wand-less magic before the child starts Hogwarts, but they monitor wand magic and if he used his wand then he would likely get a warning as he wasn’t allowed to use it yet. The next summer he wouldn’t be allowed to use magic at all, or they would sense it and it would set an alarm off as he would be past the age when he could go to Hogwarts.

When he was so exhausted that he even needed a break from practicing his magic, Marvolo had him read or re-read his books; he had already read each of them at least twice, most three or four times. All of the magical and mental exhaustion coupled with the lack of sleep he got because of all of the things he had to do and because he tried to avoid his nightmares had meant that he was incredibly sleep deprived. The last month had been quite hard on him, but he did his very best to try and impress Marvolo. Also, it was very difficult to slack off when your teacher was actually  _inside of your head_. The next three days before school, his only job was to rest and recover all of his strength. After an entire month of constantly working on his magic, it was strange to suddenly be doing nothing.

He knew so much more about magic now and he loved absolutely everything about it. He loved finding out new things and being able to accomplish new feats. It was a feeling that he wasn’t at all used to as he had been forced to never try his hardest for anything. He had tried his hardest for  _everything_  in this past month and seeing the results that came from it… It was just so amazing; he was becoming quite addicted to this feeling; striving for Marvolo’s praise and towards his own sense of satisfaction when he achieved something. He wondered what it would be like at Hogwarts. Both Marvolo and his mother had told him that he was quite powerful, but he wondered how much more powerful he was compared to the other children. He also wondered if he should show his true abilities in the classes or if he should hide it and try to act normal so as not to arouse suspicion.

He had asked Marvolo that question about a week ago while he had been practicing with the water, it was very calming and it gave him a lot of time to think. When he had asked, Marvolo had simply told him that he would decide what the best approach would be once they had gotten there. It depended on a lot of things. For instance, what house he was sorted into. The day after he had gone to Diagon Alley he had asked Marvolo what the houses were exactly.

He  _had_  been right about them being a point system, but there was more to it than that. Each of the houses was named after one of the founders of the school; Salazar Slytherin, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff. Each of them had certain traits which they valued above all else in the children they wanted to teach, and they sorted them by those traits. Salazar valued cunning, wit, ambition and pure magical ancestry void of any muggle blood, though the last one has not been entirely consistent since he left the school and the other founders. Godric valued bravery, nobility and the ability to act quickly on impulse instead of wasting time over-thinking things. Rowena valued curiosity, wisdom and a deep thirst for knowledge for knowledge’s sake. While Helga valued loyalty, trustworthiness, dedicated hard workers and kindness, but being the kind woman that she was, she could turn no one away. If there was ever a child that didn’t fit into any of the houses, then she would take them into her own house and treat them just the same as those with the traits she valued, believing that every child deserved the right to learn, regardless of their personality traits.

Harry found that it was quite interesting, but then Marvolo had told him other things about the houses. Pointing out people’s differences from each other and separating them by them often leads to bigotry and discrimination, even amongst children. Each house had a stereotype that the children often subconsciously or even consciously reflected once they were sorted there, even if they aren’t really like that. Slytherins were all believed to be evil and dark (which explained what Ron Weasley had said to Harry in Diagon Alley), Gryffindors were all believed to be stupid show-offs who never thought anything through before acting and wannabe heroes. Ravenclaws were all believed to be nerdy book lovers who did well in everything and were stuck up because of it, and Hufflepuffs were believed to be weak and stupid.

Marvolo believed that Harry would be sorted into Gryffindor (much to the man’s chagrin) as he was incredibly impulsive and didn’t think things through very often. Though, the house was not the only thing that Marvolo was taking into consideration when it came to how he would demonstrate his power, it would also depend on Dumbledore’s reaction to him. Whether or not he believed the letter that they had sent him. In order to explain his knowledge of the Wizarding World, Marvolo had had him write that his aunt had reluctantly told him about the Wizarding World and how to get to Diagon Alley. The letter had been made to sound very meek and naïve and it talked about how very confused he was at first, but also how much he found that he loved magic and couldn’t wait to go to Hogwarts.

How the Headmaster reacted both to Harry and to his sorting would make all the difference in the world. Harry still wasn’t entirely sure why though. All he knew was that for some reason Marvolo didn’t like Dumbledore at all, he never told him why when he asked though. He understood that Marvolo had lead the Dark side and Dumbledore had lead the Light (his mother had told him that in the in-between place), making them enemies in the war, but the way that Marvolo talked about him made it seem almost… personal. He hoped that once he got to Hogwarts that he would find out more about what made the Headmaster so very bad to Marvolo, and figure out if he would be bad to him as well.

*

 _July 24_   _th_   _1991_

On this particular day, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his study at Hogwarts. To any people watching, of which there were none, but if there were, what they would see would be a rather unassuming scene. An old man sitting in a chair who had white hair and a beard, both long enough to tuck into his belt. He wore half-moon glasses in front of twinkling blue eyes and donned hideously purple and orange robes and boots with a slight heel that clicked when he walked. This man looked to be about eighty, but had actually just recently celebrated his 110th birthday. He was sat in his chair, unsticking two muggle sweets called sherbert lemons from one another.

To most, this would simply seem like an old man, relaxing in his study while snacking on muggle sweets. However, it is the man’s mind that makes this scene not so unassuming. Albus Dumbledore had a brilliant mind, which rivalled those of many legendary scholars. Inside of this brilliant mind, there were gears turning, plans forming, calculations made about seemingly incalculable things. One of these incalculable things that the man was thinking of was the possibility of Harry Potter having turned out like he had planned.

The entire fate of the Wizarding World relied on how the boy of the prophecy had turned out. He sincerely hoped that the boy wasn’t treated  _too_  badly by his relatives. Albus wasn’t a heartless man; he was the Headmaster of a school. He truly cared for the lives and well-being of all of the students. But sometimes, sacrifices  _must_  be made for the greater good. Harry needed to be raised by people who would mistreat him, people who wouldn’t spoil him for being the Boy Who Lived, people who would try to keep magic secret from him. He needed to be strong, capable of dealing with things that no other child would be capable of dealing with. But he also needed to be kind and seek to make others happy.

He had already failed once, he would not fail again. Harry would defeat Lord Voldemort like the prophecy had said. He would defeat him for good.

In the middle of Albus’ thoughts, a beautiful snowy owl flew in through his window and landed in front of him.

“Oh, hello beautiful,” Albus said with a soft chuckle as he picked up the letter that the owl had brought him. The moment he had, the beautiful owl took off again. That must mean that the letter was one of the student’s responses. He opened it and, to his great surprise, he discovered that the letter was from Harry Potter himself.

_Dear Headmaster Dumbledore,_

_I’m Harry Potter. I got a letter from Hogwarts today and it said I had to send a response. I was a little confused at first because I didn’t know anything about magic, but my aunt explained it to me. She didn’t seem very happy to do that but she did, and she told me where to go to get my supplies. I had to go by myself, but that’s okay, I’m used to doing things by myself._

_It was all a little strange at first, things floating that aren’t supposed to float. Broomsticks being looked at like racing cars. Lots of weird stuff. But after being there for a bit, I think that I really like it. I can’t wait to go to Hogwarts and learn more about magic. I’m really excited for all of the classes. I think I’m really going to love it there._

_I hope that my owl got to you okay. I just got her today and I didn’t even know that owls could deliver mail so I don’t know when you’ll be getting this. I hope that I didn’t interrupt anything important. I hope you have a nice day._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry Potter_

That was quite surprising to say the least. He hadn’t expected Petunia to explain things to the boy. In fact, he was quite looking forward to sending more and more letters, (he had many ideas for them, such as having a confunded milk man deliver a carton of eggs, each of which containing a letter) before finally sending Hagrid. The large man was loyal to him to a fault, so Harry would be getting the right kind of introduction to the Wizarding World, and he was the one most likely to miss any signs of neglect or abuse that might have been present.

It was a bit different than what he had assumed would happen, but it wasn’t something that he hadn’t considered. It seemed however, that everything had turned out for the best. The boy seemed very kind and innocent, meaning that he would be easily swayed to the Light side and away from all things Dark. Although his plan was turning out to be slightly different, it seems that it had worked just as effectively.

He would still be sending Hagrid to get the Stone on the 31st, though it would be a pity that the boy wouldn’t be there to see it. Although, Harry had said in the letter that he was used to doing things on his own, so maybe he had nothing to worry about. All in all, he was quite happy with himself and how well things seemed to be coming together. He smiled to himself as he sat back in his chair, sucking on a sherbert lemon. He pushed away the niggling feeling of guilt that threatened to start eating at him. He reminded himself that this was all for the greater good. That Harry’s terrible experiences would make him a better person, capable of defeating Lord Voldemort.

This was necessary.

It was for the  _greater good_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter or this story in general then please give Kudos and leave a comment in the comment section below :) even if you want to give some constructive criticism or point out a typo or something, I always love to hear feedback :) 
> 
> So, Harry has learned Occlumency and even invented a hybrid of it to make it seem like he has no mental shields at all! And, we get a first little glimpse into the mind of Albus Dumbledore. Him and his mind of manipulations, calculating seemingly incalculable things... Please tell me what you think of my portrayal of Dumbledore and if you think he can be improved in the future :) Also, any guesses about the future of this story are welcome too, as are raging rants about Dumbledore, if you feel so inclined, then be my guest :) 
> 
> Next chapter, all aboard the Hogwarts Express!!!


	9. The Hogwarts Express

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon killed Harry, he met his mother, pitied Marvolo and saved his life. He now lives in his head and gives him knowledge and advice about the wizarding world and has been training him in wandless magic. He went to Diagon Alley, met about half the Weasleys (liked the twins, took a GREAT disliking to Ron and didn't like Ginny very much either). He got all of his stuff, including Hedwig, his usual holly wand, and a couple books on the history of the wizarding world and occlumency and legilimency. Over the past month he has been learning Occlumency and even created his hybrid of it, allowing his surface thoughts to run completely on their own, disguising the fact that he has mental shields entirely with what he refers to as his 'programs'. In the last chapter, we also took a look into the extraordinary mind of Albus Dumbledore, where he reflected on the slight hiccough in his plans, but due to a letter from Harry (Marvolo's quick thinking of course), he believes that his plans for our Boy-Who-Lived will work out perfectly fine, unaware of the presence of Voldemort's soul piece in Harry's head, or even that Voldemort's soul is in pieces at all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains reference to muggle ignorance, a little git and mentionings of World War II and the holocaust. I don't mean to upset or offend anyone with the last one, and I apologize greatly if I do. All of the MUGGLE information that I provide, I learned in my History class and then later looked up for myself. If you have any issues with the information, then the problem lies with my History teacher and the internet. Please don't be offended by anything said in this chapter, it is certainly not my intention. This has been my warning, and this is not the last time I will be bringing up the second World War and the holocaust as it plays into this story quite a bit.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo speaking.~_

Harry could hardly contain his excitement as he sat on the bus on his way to King’s Cross Station. Despite how crowded the bus was, Harry had quite a bit of room around him; his excited magic had affected the muggles and made them fidgety and uncomfortable around him, for reasons that they didn’t understand. At that moment though, Harry didn’t care. He was so excited to _finally_ be going to Hogwarts. He wondered if his mother had had been right and he truly would make friends. Then, Marvolo sighed. 

_~Harry, if you cannot even control your magic on a muggle bus, then how do you expect to be able to control it at Hogwarts? We don’t know how the old fool will react to you, never mind to your power.~_ Over the last month of rigorous training, it seemed that he and Marvolo had grown somehow… closer. Though he knew that Marvolo would never admit it, and he would never tell him that he thought so in case he realized what he was doing and suddenly stopped, which was why he was blocking his thoughts from the man at the moment. But before they had gone to Diagon Alley, he had never called him by his name. The first time that he had done it had been because he was panicking over feeling others’ magics for the first time. But, gradually, he had started using his name every so often, and now he used it almost as much as he used the phrase ‘idiot boy’, which had practically become his nickname.

_Sorry Marvolo._ Harry thought as he automatically reeled his magic in, containing it completely in his body. The muggles’ faces then relaxed for a moment before looking confused. It was kind of funny how oblivious they were…

When Harry arrived at the station he practically ran to the barrier between platforms nine and ten, stopping just a few metres before it. The brick wall in front of him was undeniably magical. To think that people went through this and no one ever noticed! That’s quite a bit of magic, really. Harry wondered if _he_ could ever be capable of something like that. To put something out in broad daylight, in plain sight, and yet have no one notice it at all!

With his bag in his hand with all of his things inside of it (except for Hedwig who would be meeting him there), Harry began to run towards the barrier. He wondered if he might crash right into it, he wondered if that would hurt. He was running so fast now, there was nothing to stop him if he crashed. He closed his eyes tight when the barrier came closer, a part of him expecting an impact and pain that never came. Instead, he was basked in a sudden wave of magic, some from things, some from people, and it was all _amazing_.

He opened his eyes and saw that he was somewhere entirely different now. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform scattered with people. A sign overhead said ‘Hogwarts Express, Eleven O’clock’. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words ‘Platform Nine and Three-Quarters’ on it. To think that all of this had been hidden behind the barrier; he wondered where they actually were now. Did the barrier transport him somewhere else? Or could he possibly be _inside_ the barrier? With some sort of enlarging spell, like what was on his bag?

Smoke from the engine drifted overhead, there were quite a few people here, but not that many. He supposed that he had shown up rather early, it was only twenty minutes after ten. He made his way towards the scarlet train and then made his way inside of it all the way to the back. He took the farthest compartment on the right, sat down and pulled out one of his school books. He should make sure that he knew everything in those ones as Marvolo said that the teachers would likely test the students to see if they actually read them. 

The minutes passed by quickly as he skimmed through his books to make sure he knew all of the information. Outside of the train he could see more and more families arriving. By the time it was ten to, the platform was completely crowded. Even though he felt a little bit guilty for it, he then put down his book and took to watching the magical families. He wondered what they were really like. What it would have been like for him if he had been raised by his parents and not the Dursleys.

He saw a girl with a pug-like faced talking, seemingly rather formally with her mother. He saw a boy with dreadlocks surrounded by a small crowd, suddenly the people around him shrieked and yelled. He saw a round-faced boy with an older woman, he looked kind of sad, but he couldn’t hear their conversation as they were too far away. He saw a strikingly beautiful family of blonds, the way they held themselves made it seem like they were practically royalty; maybe they were. He saw many children being hugged and kissed by their parents, lots of smiles, some tears, and he felt an odd sensation in his gut. A twisting kind of feeling that was a combination of envy and longing. He blocked that thought from Marvolo; he didn’t want him to think that he was weak.

He looked away from them, as his eyes began to water a bit, towards the barrier, just in time to see an unfamiliar boy with red hair and glasses come through it with a cart, before striding away somewhere. Soon after, a much more familiar redhead came through the barrier, followed by his twin. Harry smiled when he saw them, remembering how fun it had been to spend time with them while he was at Diagon Alley. Next through the barrier was Ron, he grimaced remembering that he would be in the same year as him, possibly attending classes with him. He didn’t want to be bombarded by questions about Voldemort and his scar constantly.

Next to come through the barrier was Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, the little girl who had obsessed over him and then run away from him. He laughed a bit when he saw Mrs. Weasley trying to clean Ron’s face with a handkerchief and Ron trying to wriggle away from her. He laughed even more when one of the twins said,

“Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?”

“Shut up.” Ron said.

“Where’s Percy?” their mother asked.

“He’s coming now.” One of the twins answered, just as the oldest boy with the glasses came striding into sight. He was now changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.

“Can’t stay long, Mother,” he said in a pompous sort of way, “I’m up front; the prefects have got two compartments to themselves –”

“Oh, are you a prefect Percy?” one of the twins interrupted him, with an air of great surprise. “You should have said something, we had no idea.”

“Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it,” said the other twin, “Once –”

“Or twice –”

“A minute –”

“All summer –”

“Oh, shut up,” said Percy the Prefect. Then his mother kissed him on the cheek and he left. She then turned to the twins.

“Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve – you’ve blown up a toilet or –”

“Blown up a toilet?” one of the twins interrupted, “We’ve never blown up a toilet.”

“Great idea though, thanks, Mum.”

“It’s not funny.” She said sternly, “And look after Ron.”

“Don’t worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us.”

“Shut up.” Ron said again. Then the little girl suddenly piped up and said,

“Mum, Mummy, can I go on the train and look for Harry Potter? Mum, please…”

“No, Ginny.” Mrs. Weasley said, becoming very stern, “The poor boy isn’t something you goggle at in a zoo. And I do _not_ want a repeat of Diagon Alley, that goes for you too Ron.” The boy acknowledged her absentmindedly. Suddenly a whistle sounded and then the redheaded boys all clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window so their mother could kiss them goodbye, and then Ginny began to cry.

“Don’t Ginny, we’ll send you loads of owls.” said one of the twins.

“We’ll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat.”

“George!”

“Only joking, Mum,” The train then began to move. Harry saw the boys’ mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. Harry felt a great leap of excitement, he couldn’t wait to get to Hogwarts and begin his new life… Suddenly, the door of the compartment slid open and Ron came in.

“Anyone sitting there?” he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. “Everywhere else is full.” Harry sincerely doubted that, but no one was sitting there, so Harry reluctantly shook his head and the boy sat down. He didn’t say anything else after that, he just glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn’t looked. Harry felt incredibly uncomfortable around this boy and was trying to think of a nice way to ask him to leave, or maybe find a way to leave himself without Ron following him. He ignored Marvolo’s suggestion of just throwing him out of the compartment and locking the door. 

“Hey Harry.” said one of the twins who had suddenly shown up in the compartment.

“Our brother’s not giving you trouble again, is he?” asked the other. Harry said nothing, only pursed his lips a bit. That seemed to be all the confirmation that the twins needed. The first twin then came into the compartment and grabbed him by the ear.

“Hey! Geroff!” Ron said, struggling to free his captured ear, “I wasn’t even _doing_ anything! Harry, tell them!” Harry stayed quite, though it _was_ true that he hadn’t done anything, he also didn’t want to have to sit with the boy for the whole train ride. He wondered if he was being mean, if he should give the boy another chance… but then he remembered how he had reminded him of Dudley when he had first met him and he had almost pushed him to the ground and then never apologized. And he remembered that the boy had said that eleven year olds should be sent to Azkaban (which he now knew was a truly horrid place) just because they were sorted into Slytherin to 'prevent them from doing evil things'. And he remembered how after he had found out who he was he had treated him like some new, interesting toy. So he said nothing.

“Sorry about him.” said the other twin as the one with Ron’s ear pulled him out of the compartment.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get rid of him for you.” Then he flicked his younger brother in the side of the head, 

“And we’d love to stay and chat,” said the other, “But our friend Lee Jordan’s got a giant tarantula down at the middle of the train.”

“See you at Hogwarts Harry!” they said together as they left, dragging their brother along with them, ignoring his protests to be let go.

“Bye!” Harry said happily, waving them off. He laughed a bit to himself, and he could tell that Marvolo was a bit amused as well, though he said nothing. Harry decided to go back to reading his books. He really wished that he had new ones; these ones were starting to get a bit old… But regardless, he read them, and when he got too bored he would look out of the window and watch the scenery go by. The train had already carried them out of London and now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep.

At around half past twelve, there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back the door and said,

“Anything off the cart, dear?” Harry was curious about the foreign candy so he bought a little bit of everything. He liked most of it, though the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans was a bit of a gamble as to what he would find. The first chocolate frog that he opened spooked him a bit as it jumped straight into his face. It startled him enough that his magic threw it back into the other seat and it melted. To his surprise, it began to disappear, getting smaller and smaller until there was nothing left. These seats must have cleaning charms on them; interesting. 

The card that came with the magical chocolate was, to his surprise, of Albus Dumbledore. This was the man that Marvolo hated so much, the leader of the Light side. The back of the card read,

_ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS_

_Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling._

Harry already knew all of that, and there was nothing there to suggest why Marvolo hated him so much, unless of course he had been friends with Grindelwald. But Harry knew that wasn't possible, Marvolo didn't _have_ friends. Harry turned the card back over to look at the man again, only to find that he was gone. That’s annoying… Harry stared at the card until Dumbledore sidled back into the picture, giving him a small smile. Harry realized suddenly who this was. He had a lot more lines on his face and his hair was white now instead of auburn, but this had been the teacher that he had seen in Marvolo’s memories. This had been the teacher who had looked at Marvolo in the same way that all of Harry’s teachers in the past had always looked at him; like he was bad. Not trustworthy. No good. But considering who Marvolo had grown up to become, wasn’t he right?

Harry had read about Voldemort and his reign of terror. Of the things that he did and he had ordered his ‘Death Eaters’ to do; it was horrible. It reminded him of when they had been taught about the Second World War in history class. But then Marvolo had spoken up and reminded him that the history books were written by the winners. They tended to only talk about the horrors that the losers committed, leaving out their own committed horrors.

In muggle history class, they liked to overlook the fact that the allies had bombed the Germans as well. They liked to leave out the fact that they suspected what the Germans were doing to the Jews, and yet did nothing to stop them. Even in the end, when they did set the Jews free, it wasn’t what they had actually set out to do. The Jews were no concern of theirs, they had only banded together to stop Hitler from taking over the world. It wasn’t until they were shown exactly what was happening to the Jews did they actually help them out. It wasn’t until the journals of some of the survivors were read that people started to give a damn at all about them. The history books tended to leave out the fact that the allies bombed a German school, full of children.

Marvolo explained to him that both sides of the war had been ruthless. Not just the Death Eaters, but also Dumbledore’s little band of heroes, which included Harry’s parents. It had been hard for Harry to hear that the loving woman that he had met in the in-between place had in fact killed people. That his father, whom he had never met, had killed and even tortured people. It was war. There was no ‘good’ side; there was no ‘bad’ side. There were just sides; each of them fighting for their leader and what they believed in.

However, neither side could even compare when it came to the brutality of the Ministry. Marvolo was able to read between the lines of the text when Harry couldn’t and found that after Voldemort had vanished, the Ministry had warped their sense of justice so much that they had caused more torture and destruction in their attempt to capture all of the Death Eaters than either side had done throughout the entire war. But the history books phrase it in a way that makes it seem almost okay. After all, the people they were killing and torturing were evil Death Eaters, right?

One of the books that Harry had picked up was a book with interviews from people after the war. It was worded in the same way as the others were, but the interviews were in there word for word. Ignoring the author’s opinions and explanations on what the people had said, the words themselves showed just how truly frightening the Ministry had been after the war was ‘over’…

People were thrown straight into Azkaban, without a trial, if they were even suspected of using the Dark Arts or following Voldemort or even just believing in the same way that Voldemort did. People had to be careful of what they said in case someone thought that they were possibly dark and turned them in. The initial night of celebration when Voldemort vanished was followed by many months that some considered to be even worse than the war itself. With friend turning on friend in order to round up all of the ‘evil’ people, no one knew who to trust. It wasn’t until Cornelius Fudge had been elected Minister of Magic did things eventually change.

Unlike in the Muggle World, where the people voted, in the Wizarding World, there was a sort of council of high ranking Wizards called the Wizengamot that decided who the Minister of Magic would be. Both the people and the Wizengamot had wanted Dumbledore, but he had refused. Bartemius Crouch was quite far in the running, until it was discovered that his son was a Death Eater, who he had them promptly sent to Azkaban in order to save face in front of the public, but that had only ended up making them think he was at fault for his son’s decision to join Voldemort because he had been a terrible, neglectful father. Marvolo told Harry that that part was quite true. In the end, Cornelius Fudge had been elected, and the first thing that he did was put the people’s minds at ease.

He told them that there was nothing to worry about anymore. Voldemort was gone, the Death Eaters were all locked up, and it was time for them to go back to their lives. He had the Ministry stop torturing people for information about Death Eaters, he had fair trials reinstated and he made the ministry a lot more orderly and business-like. Many people disliked his calm and peaceable way of running things, how over-tolerant he was of many things and his almost complete reliance on Dumbledore after his first year or so of being Minister. But, at the time, he was what the Wizarding World had needed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware that not many things have happened in the chapter, it was meant as more of a first look at Wizarding politics and getting Harry onto the train. I know that people have been asking about whether Hermione will be good or bad in this fic. Or whether since Ron is clearly not good, will Draco be? Well, both of these questions will be answered in the next chapter :) Harry will be meeting Neville, Hermione and Draco in chapter ten, entitled 'Frizzy-Haired Toads with Rich Parents'. Odd, I know, but I think it portrays the main focus of the chapter pretty well :) 
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter or this fic if you're reading it for the first time, then please leave a comment below :) Even if you've got some constructive criticism, or if you want to point out a typo or a flaw somewhere along the way, that would be most appreciated if you feel so inclined to do so :) Also, Kudos are appreciated as well :) I hope you'll come back in about a week's time to read the next chapter :)


	10. Frizzy-Haired Toads with Rich Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon killed Harry, he died and met his mother who told him many things about the Great Wizarding War including the prophecy and that Neville was the other possible chosen one. Then he was revived by his magic healing him and his soul melded with that of Marvolo's. Now he helps out Harry sometimes and is teaching him wandless magic and occlumency (Harry even developed his own hybrid of the art). Harry went to Diagon Alley and met half the Weasleys including Ron (who he really didn't like) and the twins (who he really liked). Fast forward a month later and Harry is on the Hogwarts express on the first of September on his way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin his magical education. Ron tried to sit with him but the twins removed him for Harry before heading off to see their friend Lee. Harry is now sitting alone and reading some books while also thinking about the things that Marvolo has told him over the last month about the wizarding world and war. But who is it that will happen along to Harry's compartment next??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of child abuse, child neglect, possible child abuse/neglect and mentions of the almost accidental murder of a child.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ ___

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone and now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.

There was a knock on the door of the compartment and the round-faced boy that Harry had spotted briefly on platform nine and three quarters came in, looking tearful. With him was an unfamiliar girl with bushy brown hair and large front teeth who already had on her Hogwarts robes. Both of them had very strong magic, the girl’s had a very swift and serious kind of flow to it, as if she was the kind of person whose mind moved quickly, tolerated no nonsense and was very straightforward. While the boy’s was altogether very strong and powerful, like an unmovable force and at the same time very timid and curled in on itself; like it was actually  _trying_ to be smaller than it was.

“Have you happened to see a toad anywhere?” the girl asked, “Neville’s lost one.” The girl had a bossy sort of voice, but what interested him was the boy’s name. His mother had mentioned a boy called Neville Longbottom who had been the other possible child of the Prophecy.

“No, I haven’t,” he said, and unable to help his curiosity, he asked, “Your last name wouldn’t happen to be Longbottom, would it?” the boy’s eyes widened as he timidly nodded his head.

“W-why do you a-ask?” the boy said in the smallest, most frightened voice that he had ever heard.

“Oh, no reason.” He said. The girl narrowed her eyes at him before she said,

“Well, now that you know his name, it’s only fair that you tell us yours – oh, and I’m Hermione Granger by the way.”

“I’m Harry Potter.” He said, Neville’s eyes widened even more and his mouth fell open, his lip began to quiver a tiny bit. Harry sighed, would it be like this every time he introduced himself?

“Are you really?” said Hermione, “I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you’re in _Modern Magical History_ and _The_ _Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_. Nobody in my family’s magical at all, so I thought that it would be best to learn as much as I could about the Magical World. It was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it’s the very best school of witchcraft there is, I’ve heard – I’ve learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough.” Harry wondered when the girl ever had time to breathe.

While he didn’t particularly like her bossy attitude and she was kind of annoying, Harry thought that she was quite interesting if he actually listened to what she was saying. He also found that although he had just met them, he could sort of relate to both of them. The way that Neville acted, so small and meek, reminded him of himself before he had met Marvolo, though he was never quite so bad about it as Neville. That made him wonder (and worry) about Neville’s home life if his behaviour was similar to his when he was being abused… And Hermione was raised in the muggle world, just like him. All of this was so new to her, but she had taken it in stride and had read other books just so that she could understand this new world that she was suddenly thrown into.  Just like he had done because Marvolo had told him too, but she didn't have a Marvolo (as far as he knew) so she had done that all on her own simply because she was curious and wanted to fit in.

Marvolo had told him that most muggleborns don’t make the effort to really impact the Wizarding World or learn about the customs and history. Most of them don’t even stay in the Wizarding World once they finish Hogwarts; they just return to the Muggle World and, sometimes, though not usually,  they used their magical abilities to become rich or famous, even though that was technically illegal. But Hermione seemed just as excited about Hogwarts and magic as he was. Maybe he could become friends with these two. Even if they were both currently looking at him in an odd way (especially Neville) they certainly seemed to be better company than Ron Weasley

“If you’d like, I could help you search for the toad.” He really didn’t have anything else to do, and he wanted to get to know them. That seemed to snap Neville out of his staring.

“N-no, t-that’s alright. Y-you don’t have to do th-that…”

“I want to.” Harry said with a smile. Neville gave him a timid smile in return. Taking his bag with all of his stuff in it with him, he followed Neville and Hermione out of the compartment and they began to look.

After the first few times that Harry had asked the students if they had seen Neville’s toad and one or more of them had recognized his scar, it was silently agreed among them that Harry would hang back while the others asked.

While they were looking, the three talked and found out more about each other. Harry found out that Hermione’s parents were dentists and that they had actually taken a great interest in the magical world, being scholarly people. They had raised her to always value knowledge and books. She’d also quietly admitted to them that she never had any friends before because of how much she read and how much she talked. The other children always told her that she was annoying and talked too much, so eventually she had just stopped talking to people altogether and consumed all of her time with books, but that had just made them pick on her more. She couldn’t help it that she talked a lot, she had a lot to say and she was a very passionate person when she talked about all the things that she knew, but that had just made people think that she was a know-it-all.

The poor girl had looked like she was going to cry until both Harry and Neville had told her that they had never really had any friends either. They told her that they considered her their friend and they didn’t mind that she talked a lot. Harry told her that the things she said were really very interesting and he liked talking with her. For the next little bit, the two had talked about what they had read in the history books and how the Wizarding World differed from the Muggle World.

After some time, Harry started to feel bad that this was a conversation that Neville couldn’t really join in on as he hadn’t read all the things that they had and he had been raised in the Wizarding World, with very little knowledge of the Muggle one. So, Harry decided to steer the conversation back into Neville’s direction and they found out that Neville was raised by his grandmother (who must have been the older woman that Harry had seen him with before). When Hermione had asked what had happened to his parents, he had hesitantly told them that they were in St. Mungo’s because they had been tortured to insanity by Death Eaters. After he had said that, Marvolo spoke up in his head for the first time since he had been on the Muggle bus.

 _~Tortured into insanity?!~_ He said, his growing anger coming off in palpable waves in Harry’s mind, _~I have never_ once _given the order for my Death Eaters to torture a magical person into insanity. Torture, yes. Kill, where necessary, yes. But not torture into insanity. There are many things that I will tolerate, but torturing magical people into insanity is_ not _one of them. It is practically spitting in the face of magic to ridicule them in such a way. To_ waste _such magical talent… and the Longbottoms_ were _talented. What had made their son even a candidate for the prophecy was because they had faced_ me _three times and somehow managed to survive. If I had a body…~_

After that, he couldn’t hear Marvolo anymore, so he assumed that the man had blocked him out. That was quite surprising to him; he honestly thought that Marvolo had absolutely no morals at all. No sense of right and wrong, but it turned out that there _were_ things that he considered going too far. He turned back to his new friends to find Hermione giving Neville a hug and apologizing for asking. Harry hesitantly and awkwardly joined in on the hug, patting Neville's shoulder clumsily.  He was glad that Marvolo hadn’t been the one responsible for his new friend’s suffering; at least not directly.  Though he supposed that he would have to get used to meeting people who he  _had_ caused the suffering of.  He would just have to remind himself that it was a war, and that's what happened in war.  That didn't make him feel all that much better about it though...

Suddenly, Harry looked over Neville’s shoulder and saw some very small moving thing. It was a toad! He immediately broke off from their hug and went running towards it. He slowed down its momentum when it tried to hop away and he grabbed it out of the air. When he turned around, both Neville and Hermione were giving him confused looks, until he showed them what was in his hands.

“Trevor!” Neville said excitedly as he ran forwards and Harry placed the toad into his hands. As the three of them walked back to Harry’s compartment at the end of the train, Neville told them how he had gotten his toad. It turned out that Neville’s family was incredibly worried that he was a squib as he hadn’t shown much accidental magic. In an effort to try and force some magic out of him, Neville’s Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch him off guard. He even pushed him off the end of Blackpool pier once and he nearly drowned. Neville talked about his near murder by a family member in such a casual way that shouldn’t be normal for an eleven year old (though of course, Harry wasn't exactly one to talk).

He told them that nothing happened until he was eight and his Great Uncle Algie had come round for dinner. He was hanging eight year old Neville outside of an upstairs window by his ankles when his Great Aunt Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. Fortunately for Neville (and his Great Uncle), he had bounced all the way down the garden and into the road.

“T-they were all really p-pleased,” he told them, “G-gran was c-crying, she was so happy. And you should have s-seen their faces when I got in here – t-they thought I might not be magical enough to c-come, you see. Great Uncle A-Algie was so pleased that he bought me my t-toad. He's named T-Trevor because that was my G-grandfather's name, my G-great Uncle Algie's b-brother. I saw him d-die when I was six...” Neville's voice trailed off there, by that time the three of them had made it to Harry’s compartment and had sat down. There was silence between the three of them, until Hermione broke it by saying,

“That’s horrible! How could he do that to you? You were eight!” Harry wondered how the bushy-haired girl would react if she knew all the things that had happened to _him_ when he was eight… He pushed the thought away. He liked her, but he didn’t trust her or Neville nearly enough to tell them something like that. Besides, he didn’t want her to pity him.

“It wasn’t that bad…” Neville mumbled.

“What if you hadn’t bounced down the street?” she continued, “What if you _had_ been a squib or your magic just couldn’t save you? You probably would have _died_! There _has_ to be some law against that…”

The two argued for a bit about it. Neville continued to defend his Great Uncle and Hermione continued to say how horrible what he had done was and that it was lucky that Neville was here at all. Not wanting to see his two new friends argue, he attempted to change the subject to something nicer.

“I can’t wait until we get to Hogwarts.” He said, a little louder than necessary in order to end their argument. Neville sent him a thankful smile, while Hermione replied,

“Oh yes, me too. I’ve read all about it – Do either of you know what house you’ll be in? I’ve been asking around, and I hope I’m in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad…”

“Gryffindor?” Harry asked, “Really? You don’t really seem like a Gryffindor to me… What have you been told about it?”

“Oh, well, I heard that people in Gryffindor are really brave and noble. Also that they’re really nice and they fight evil. Mostly just that it’s the best house to be in, which is why I want to be in it. It really does seem like the best from what I’ve heard.” Harry sighed, he still didn’t know how people were sorted into the houses (Marvolo had told him that there was a spell cast on all those who were sorted so they can’t reveal it to anyone who hadn’t been sorted as well), but he didn’t want Hermione to go into it with only half-truths and maybe botch her own sorting.

“That’s only half true.” Harry said, and immediately both Hermione and Neville perked up and listened to his explanation (which he knew practically by heart because of Marvolo) intently, “There is no real ‘best house’, it’s all a matter of opinion. The people who told you that Gryffindor was the best were probably Gryffindors or their family has been mainly Gryffindors. The sorting is sort of like a personality test based on the types of people that the founders liked to teach, though I’m not sure how they actually do it... Godric Gryffindor _did_ value bravery and nobility, but he also valued the ability to act quickly, on impulse, without wasting time thinking things through. I haven’t known you for very long Hermione, but you don’t seem like that kind of a person.

“You seem more like a Ravenclaw to me. Rowena Ravenclaw valued curiosity, wisdom and a deep thirst for knowledge. Like I said, I haven’t known you for very long but you’ve already shown a great thirst for knowledge as well as a lot of curiosity. Ravenclaws are stereotypically known for loving books, achieving well in school, being snobbish and just generally being smart; but those are just stereotypes. While the stereotype for Gryffindor is that they are all wannabe heroes who act impulsively without thinking of the consequences.

“Slytherin, like Ravenclaw, is also known for intelligence, and if you’ve heard that Gryffindor is the best house, then you’ve probably heard that Slytherin is evil and the worst because Gryffindor and Slytherin are apparently bitter rivals. If you talked to a Slytherin then they’d probably say something similar about Gryffindor. This is mostly because while Gryffindors are known for acting without thinking, Slytherins are chosen for their wit, cunning and ambition. Though, when Hogwarts first started, Salazar Slytherin didn’t want any muggleborns or half-bloods in his house, but that changed after he abandoned the school and the other three founders.

“The last house is Hufflepuff. Helga Hufflepuff valued loyalty, dedicated hard workers, trustworthiness and kindness, but if there was ever someone who ever didn’t fit into any of the houses, then she would take them because she believed that every child deserves an education. Though, for some reason the Hufflepuff stereotype is that they are weak and stupid, I honestly have no idea why; maybe because they’re really loyal and people see that as stupid? I don’t know…”

When Harry had finished his speech about the houses, the trio were quiet for a bit. The first one to speak up was Hermione.

“That makes sense.” she said, “I guess that I should have researched the houses a bit more myself and not just gone off of what other people had told me. Now that I know what the houses actually are… I think that I would much rather be a Ravenclaw than a Gryffindor. I don’t think that I could _ever_ do something without thinking about it first! What if I messed up, or something went wrong?” she visibly shuddered, “Thanks Harry.” She said, giving him a warm smile.

“No problem.” Harry said, smiling back at her, “I just didn’t want you to be misinformed.” Then he looked at Neville. He was just staring off into space. “You alright, Neville?” the boy suddenly snapped out of it and exclaimed,

“Y-you’ve just turned my whole w-world around! M-my Gran always told me that G-Gryffindor was the best and that H-Hufflepuff was just a bunch of d-duffers. She said that S-Slytherin was evil and that R-Ravenclaws were all snobbish and thought that they were b-better than everybody else. I j-just don’t know what to th-think anymore!” he threw his hands up into the air in exasperation and then sighed.

However, free of Neville’s grip, Trevor took the opportunity to jump off of the boys lap and out of the compartment.

“Trevor!” Neville exclaimed before chasing after his pet toad. Hermione immediately got up to follow him. Harry rose to do the same, but Hermione turned to him and said,

“No, it’s alright. We’ll catch him. You caught him last time. Just wait here, we’ll be back soon.” She smiled before running out after Neville and shutting the compartment door. Harry sighed before sitting back down. After a couple minutes went by and they hadn’t come back, Harry put his hand into his bag and pulled out _Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger. He still remembered what the Weasley twins had said about their Potions Professor, so he thought that it would be best to review the book just one more time to make sure that he wouldn’t get on the Professor’s bad side.

He had just begun reading chapter two when the compartment door slid open. He looked up, expecting it to be Neville and Hermione, but instead it was a group of three boys. The one in the middle, Harry recognised, was the child of the blond family that had looked like royalty on the platform. The boy had rather strong magic, almost the same level as Neville and Hermione's and it seemed as though it was trying to fly, but was keeping itself contained far more than it should. If the magic naturally wanted to fly then Harry didn’t see why it was trying to keep itself contained.

On either side of him were two very thickset boys who looked quite mean; standing on either side of the pale, blond boy as they were, they looked like body guards. Remembering how the boy’s family had looked like royalty, he couldn’t help but think that maybe they were. The two boy’s magics were both very low and dull, had they not been aboard the Hogwarts Express then he may have mistaken them for muggles (ones that he could sense very strongly though, like Petunia, he still didn’t know why he could sense her more than Vernon, he would think more on that later though, he didn’t want to think about Private Drive right now), but the two boys were indeed magical, if only slightly.

“Hello,” Harry greeted politely. He didn’t really want to get on the bad side of someone who could possibly be the wizarding equivalent of royalty. “My name is Harry Potter, and you?”

“Draco Malfoy.” The boy replied immediately, “And this is Crabbe and this is Goyle.” He said, pointing to each of his body guards respectively.

“It’s very nice to meet the three of you.” He said, feeling quite awkward talking like this, but he remembered how much nicer the goblins were when he had been nice and formal towards them, so he figured that he should do the same with wizarding royalty. “Would you like to sit down? My friends are gone at the moment but they should be back soon. I’ll introduce you to them then.” Draco Malfoy nodded curtly before sitting down and waving a hand at his bodyguards to do the same when they just continued standing in place, before slightly rolling his eyes.

“Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Potter.” Malfoy said, sounding very formal, he must actually be royalty if he talked like that all the time. He heard a sharp laugh in his mind,

 _~So this is what Lucius’ heir has grown to become.~_ Marvolo said, _~I only ever saw the child once or twice, he was but an infant then. The child isn’t royalty, idiot boy; though his family_ is _incredibly rich and influential. However, the boy’s words are obviously not his own, this is the way his father speaks to people and he’s merely copying him. Though to what aim, I am not sure… Continue talking to him, I’m rather… curious. For the moment.~_ Harry did as Marvolo said, though Malfoy looked a bit fidgety at the long pause.

“Please, Mr. Malfoy, call me Harry. And my ‘reputation’ as you put it, has nothing to do with me. How can it, when it happened when I was a baby?” Harry was starting to find this formal way of talking kind of fun. It was easy to get caught up in it, what with Marvolo in his head and Malfoy right in front of him. But then, to his surprise, Malfoy’s face stopped being formal and unaffected and he blanched at him for a couple seconds before saying,

“But, you stopped the Dark Lord!”

“And how did I do that?” he asked, tilting his head innocently. He heard Marvolo laugh coldly in his head, clearly amused by the fact that the Malfoy heir had lost his clam façade while Harry had kept his. He liked amusing Marvolo, so he continued, “I was only a year old, Mr. Malfoy. How do you expect that an infant defeated Voldemort? Do you think I cried him to death?” the blond flinched at Voldemort's name before he replied,

“W-well… No, I suppose not. And you can call me Draco, if you’d like. You said that I could call you Harry after all.” He didn’t go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.

“Exactly,” Harry said with a smile, he felt a bit bad for embarrassing the boy, “It was actually my mother who defeated him. She used ancient blood magic that required a sacrifice and provided protection.” He’d learned that from Marvolo when he’d brought up what his mother had told him in the in-between place, the man had been quite fascinated by it.

“Really?” Malfoy asked, still not having his calm façade back, he looked genuinely interested and Harry decided that he liked talking to the Malfoy when he was being genuine much more than when he was being formal. He decided to drop the pretense as well and smiled warmly, thinking of his mother,

“Yeah, she saved my life.”

“She must have really cared about you a lot…” he said, and then seemingly more to himself than to Harry, he added, “I wonder if my mother would do something like that for me…” there was silence for a bit between them as Harry didn’t know how to respond to that statement. Then, seeming to come back to himself, Malfoy put back on his formal façade. Harry frowned; he kind of liked talking to him when he wasn’t wearing it.

“Anyway, Harry. The reason why I came to your compartment was to propose a relationship of a kind. I feel that it would benefit both you and myself if we were to become close, possibly having more discussions like this. This relationship would consist of studying together, spending time together and hopefully, if we ended up in the same house, sleeping in the same dorm. What say you to this proposal?” then he held out his hand towards Harry. Before he could answer the incredibly confusing question with some variant of ‘Could you repeat that in normal English?’, Marvolo’s cold, cruel laughter broke out in his mind.

 _~So this is what the Malfoy heir was planning! His entire scheme was to become friends with the Boy Who Lived. Poor Lucius, his heir has learned to use his manipulative tactics to do nothing more than_ make friends _. He’s not even very good at it. Poor, poor Lucius.~_ Draco just wanted to make friends with him?

“Do you mean you just want to be friends?” Harry asked just to make sure. The pink tinge came back into the Malfoy heir’s cheeks as he nodded curtly. Harry gave a small laugh before taking his hand and shaking it.

“Alright Draco,” he said, “I’ll be friends with you.” For the first time since he had come into the compartment, Draco genuinely smiled.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :) I really, really hope that you enjoyed this chapter :) If you did then please leave a Kudos and/or a comment below to let me know, I appreciate every single one of each greatly :) even if you didn't like it, or you have a complaint, or some constructive criticism or something is really bugging you like a flaw in my logic or a typo, then please let me know in the comments :) 
> 
> Now, in case you were wondering or even if you weren't, I invented the part about Trevor being the name of the Grandfather than Neville saw die when he was younger. I wanted to give some more meaning and value to his pathetic pet to show why it really means so much to him. And I hoped you enjoyed seeing a glimpse of Marvolo's beliefs. It wasn't exactly 'morals' like Harry assumed per-say, he just has a great love and respect for magic and in his SANITY he doesn't like to ridicule or waste that. Killing them is one thing but wasting their magical talent by making them insane is uncalled for and just plain ridiculous in his opinion. SO! Both Hermione and Draco become friends with Harry! Yay :) I know that a lot of you were quite worried about that. But how will they react when Hermione and Neville come back?? Also I really hope that you enjoyed Draco's proposal of friendship, I thought that it was kind of funny :) Proposing a friendship like a business deal XD
> 
> Now, the chapter that you've all been waiting for... Next chapter will be entitled 'The Sorting'!! Place your bets and guesses in the comments below on what house you think Harry will be in! I've heard guesses of all four of the houses, but what do YOU think will happen?? Also, now that Harry has told Hermione and Neville about the house traits, will they both still be Gryffindors?? Or will Hermione maybe be a Ravenclaw and Neville a Hufflepuff?? What do you think?? Please let me know, I would absolutely LOVE to hear from you :)


	11. The Sorting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon killed Harry,he died,met his mother and saved Marvolo.Now Marvolo is teaching Harry magic and Occlumency. Harry developed his own hybrid of the art so if anyone uses Legilimency they won't be able to tell that he has mental sheilds because of the 'programs' of normal trains of thought he always has running in his mind.Harry went to Diagon Alley, met Ron who he didn't like and the twins who he liked.On the train, Ron tried to sit with him and become his friend because he's the Boy-Who-Lived but the Twins removed him.Soon after, Neville and Hermione come by and Harry helps Neville find his toad and became friends with the both of them.He explained to him what the Hogwarts houses are really like.When Trevor ran away again Draco, Crabbe and Goyle came by Harry's compartment while the other two were gone.Despite his unnecessary formalities and the fact that he offered friendship as if it was a business deal, Harry took a liking to Draco and accepted his hand in friendship.Now, Hermione and Neville will be coming back into the compartment, how will Harry's friends act towards each other? And now that they know the truth about the houses, will Harry, Neville and Hermione still be Gryffindors? Or something else??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains mentions and suspicions of child abuse, mentions of the near accidental murder of a child, prejudice, and The Sorting!!
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ "This is the Sorting Hat talking." ___

After Harry had accepted Draco's strangely offered friendship, he found that the blond was much more relaxed around him. The majority of the formal tones and expressions were gone (although he still spoke and acted much more formally than most eleven year olds would). They talked about Hogwarts for a bit and what they were looking forward to. Draco told Harry that the Potions Professor, Snape, was actually his Godfather. Harry then said that he’s heard that he was really grumpy and miserable and looked like a giant bat. For a moment, Harry had regretted saying that and had been afraid that he had offended Draco by saying that about his Godfather, but he just burst into laughter (the most open thing that Harry had seen the blond do so far). While wiping tears of mirth from his eyes he agreed that his Godfather _was_ quite grumpy and miserable, but he had never heard the last part before, though now that he thought about it, it was true. He did look like a giant bat.

Draco’s two supposed body guards Crabbe and Goyle didn’t do much talking throughout the conversation, and when Harry asked about them, Draco told him that they actually _were_ body guards. He told him that a few generations back the Crabbe and Goyle families pledged themselves and their descendants to the Malfoy family in return for influence and money. The two families were closely related to each other, cousins by blood a generation before the deal with the Malfoys. The magic in their lines was slowly depleting and no one understood why, but it had greatly affected the families, making it difficult for them to get jobs in the wizarding world at all. The deal with the Malfoys had been their last option and since then, whenever a Malfoy child was to be born, the Crabbe and Goyle lines ensured that they would have children of roughly the same age to serve the Malfoy heir for the rest of his life. The boys’ fathers currently served Draco's father and their late grandfathers and great-aunt had served Draco's late grandfather and so on. Harry thought that it was interesting, though a little sad that they had to resort to being practically servants just to make a living.

Then, the compartment door slid open to reveal Hermione and Neville, red and sweating, with Neville once again firmly holding Trevor. Draco turned to glare at the two intruders, his formal facade firmly back in place and a derisive sneer on his lips.

“Draco,” Harry said a little forcefully, drawing the blond’s attention to himself. “This is Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger, my friends that I told you about. Hermione, Neville, this is Draco Malfoy, my new friend. And his bodyguards.” Harry added as an afterthought. Hermione looked at Draco curiously while Neville looked at him suspiciously (and his bodyguards fearfully).

“Granger?” Draco said in a formal, snobbish tone. “That doesn’t sound like a wizarding name.”

“It’s not.” Hermione said, “I’m a muggleborn.” He glared at her,

“That’s what I thought,” he spat viciously, “And you, Longbottom is it? I heard you were a squib.”

“I’m not!” Neville said indignantly.

“Clearly,” Malfoy drawled, “You’re probably just magic enough to get in, practically a squib really.” Neville’s face went red as Draco turned to Harry, “You apparently don’t understand how the wizarding world works, Harry. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you were raised by muggles. Some wizarding families are much better than others, and you _don’t_ want to go making friends with the wrong sort. These two, a muggleborn and a near squib, are definitely the wrong sort.”

Hermione and Neville looked at Harry fearfully. They, like him, had never had friends before and were likely afraid that now that Harry had found someone better to hang out with that he wouldn’t want to be friends with them anymore. Harry was mad. _Very_ mad. He narrowed his eyes at Draco and the boy’s eyes went wide, he recoiled away from him, his facade slipping from his face. The fearful and worried expression on his face was so innocent and so much like Hermione and Neville's at the moment that Harry's anger quickly faded away. Remembering that Marvolo had told him before that Draco was only copying his father’s words, he assumed that he was doing the same now and said to him crossly,

“Draco, Neville and Hermione are my friends. They were my friends before you and they aren’t the ones saying nasty things about you, so I’m more inclined to believe that _you_ are the ‘wrong sort’ that I should avoid.” Something like a small whimper left the Malfoy boy and Crabbe and Goyle immediately jumped in front of him, ready to defend him. Harry rolled his eyes at their antics. “But, I think that this is just what you’ve been taught and grown up with, so I’ll give you another chance. You can keep being friends with me if, and only if, you least put up with Hermione and Neville. I really like them, you don’t have to, but if you force me to choose then I’m going to choose them because you’re the one with the bad attitude.”

Both Neville and Hermione smiled at him before coming to sit down on either side of him. He would prefer to stay friends with all three of them, but if Draco made him choose, then he really would choose Neville and Hermione. Draco glared at the irritating intruders once again before he said,

“Fine. But I’m only putting up with them because I like you.” At Draco’s agreement, Crabbe and Goyle sat back down and went back to staring absentmindedly at nothing in particular. Harry smirked,

“I guess that’s good enough for now. And Draco? I _was_ raised by muggles.”

“What?!” all three of them exclaimed, Draco with disgust, Hermione with curiosity and Neville with confusion. Harry snorted.

“Yes, I was raised by muggles. My aunt and uncle, and they were horrible.” At Draco’s smug look he added, “But not all of them are. I’m sure that Hermione’s parents are really nice.” Hermione nodded and Draco glared at her, a glare which she returned fully. She glared for a few moments, until a confused and curious expression crossed her face and she turned to Harry,

“What do you mean they were horrible, Harry?” he pursed his lips, he shouldn’t have said that. He hadn’t meant to let that slip. He didn’t know how to respond to it. To his great surprise, he didn’t have to.

“I-I’m sure it d-doesn’t mean anything, Hermione.” said Neville, who met Harry’s eyes with a knowing look. He really needed to find out what was going on with Neville’s home life. The fact that his guardian condoned his Great Uncle nearly killing him at least twice clearly wasn’t all the bad that was going on there. Hermione continued to pester about it for a bit until Draco remarked that whatever it was, it was none of her business, after which the two glared at each other again.

They were nearly at Hogwarts by then and the rest of the trip was both amusing and exasperating at the same time. Both Draco and Hermione seemed to be competing for his attention, while Neville just gave him understanding looks, sharing his exasperation at the two of them, while he attempted to keep Trevor in his hands. The door was closed now though, so he couldn’t escape, but Neville wasn’t taking any chances. When the voice sounded saying that they would be at Hogwarts in five minutes, Harry and Neville pulled off their jacket and sweater and pulled on their robes overtop of their other clothes. The four then went to join the crowd of students thronging the corridor.

The train began to slow and soon stopped, the students all pushed and shoved at each other until they had exited onto the small black platform. There was a lantern bobbing above all of their heads, being held by the largest man that Harry had ever seen. He was twice as tall as a normal man and nearly five times as wide. His tangled, black, wiry hair and beard covered most of his face, giving him a bit of a wild look, but hidden between the mane and the beard, Harry could just make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles in the light of the lantern.

“I say, look at that man!” Draco exclaimed to Harry’s right, to his left Harry could hear both Neville and Hermione snickering at the blond. Inside of his head, Marvolo began muttering again about the misfortune of someone named Lucius. The large man was calling for the first years, so they followed him, slipping and stumbling on the cold, wet platform, he and Hermione had to stop Neville from falling a number of times. They soon began to trek down a very dark, steep, narrow path which led them to the edge of a great black lake. There was a resounding,

“Ooooooh!” throughout the crowd of first years as the Hogwarts castle came into view. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side of the lake was a vast castle that had many turrets and towers, its many windows sparkled in the dark, starry sky. Greater and more extraordinarily magical than anything Harry could have ever imagined, there was Hogwarts. Even from this distance, he could feel the magic of the building simply radiating from it. It almost seemed to whisper to him, to draw him in and welcome him, as if to say, “ _Come to me little one, this is your home. Welcome to your home._ ” Harry knew in that moment that the castle _would_ be his home. His very first true home; he smiled.

“No more’n four to a boat!” came the giant man’s voice, shocking Harry’s enraptured mind back to reality. He climbed into one of the little boats, and Draco immediately sat down beside him, with Neville and Hermione facing them. Hermione was sitting right in front of Draco and she glared, he glared back.  Ron Weasley loitered beside their full boat for a moment, glaring at Harry's new friends before he stomped off to get into a boat with a dark boy, a sandy-haired boy and a curly-haired blond girl.  The giant then said, “FORWARD!” And the fleet of little boats moved all at once, gliding almost abnormally smoothly across the black lake beneath them. Magic was seeping up from the lake’s depths, having an eerie sort of feel to it, letting Harry know that there was something down there, and it had magic, quite a lot of it. Harry turned back to staring at the magnificent castle that was becoming bigger and bigger as the little boats drew nearer to the cliff on which it stood. His new home… The word was strange in his mind, he’d never considered anything else his home before, but he liked it. He liked it a lot.

The little boats passed through a curtain of ivy and into a tunnel which seemed to go underneath the school itself. They then reached a kind of underground tunnel and all clambered out of their boats to stand on the rocks and pebbles beneath them. The giant man lead them to and then up a flight of stone steps before raising his giant fist and knocking on the huge oak door three times.

Immediately, the door swung open to reveal a rather stern looking witch in an emerald green cloak with her black hair tied up in a tight bun. The giant man handed them off to her before leaving; the witch then proceeded to give them a speech about the Sorting Ceremony and the houses. From the way she spoke the word ‘Slytherin’, Harry could only assume that she was a Gryffindor. Not once in her speech did she tell them _how_ the sorting worked, he supposed that the spell was still in effect, even though they were about to be sorted. Professor McGonagall, as the giant-man had called her, then left into the Great Hall and told them to wait quietly until she returned to bring them in.

Harry turned to his new friends, interrupting Hermione and Draco glaring at each other once again, and said to them,

“I don’t think that we’re all going to end up in the same house together. Actually, I’d be really surprised if more than two of us ended up in the same house. So, after the feast I want us to meet up here, even if it’s only for a couple minutes while everyone else is brought to their dormitories. If we have to, we could always get the teachers to lead us to our dorms afterwards.” Hermione protested for a bit about going against the rules, but then stopped when Neville said that he thought that it was a good idea and that he would like to see her and Harry after the feast as well. The boy then glanced at Draco to make sure that he hadn’t offended him by not mentioning him, and was only met with a glare.

His following squeak at the glare was barely audible above the sudden gasps from the other students around them. Streaming through one wall and then gliding across the chamber and out through another was about twenty pearly-white, slightly transparent ghosts. They seemed to be arguing about something, but Harry was more interested in the fact that he could _feel_ them. Harry had read about ghosts, and for some reason, he had assumed that he wouldn’t be able to feel them. That it would be as if they didn’t exist, similar to Ollivander. But he _could_ feel them. He could feel their magic, even though it was wispy and distorted and like a faded version of something that used to be. Which made sense really, considering that they were ghosts.

McGonagall came back in and told the ghosts to move along as some had begun addressing the students. She then instructed them to form a line and follow her into the Great Hall. Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind Draco, with Hermione and then Neville behind him, and they walked out of the chamber and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. Harry had read about the splendid Great Hall in his books, and he had even convinced Marvolo to describe it to him once, but those descriptions seemed to pale in comparison to the real thing.

It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. He immediately spotted Dumbledore in the middle of the table, and checked his Occlumency shields and ensured that his amazement program was working properly. The man looked just like his picture on the chocolate frog card, but there were some things that pictures (even magical ones) couldn’t replicate. The man’s magical power was simply rolling off of him in huge waves which he could feel incredibly strongly, even at this distance. His magic felt calculating, somehow cold and warm at the same time, and simply _immense_.

The man noticed his look, met his eyes and smiled, crinkling his twinkling blue eyes around the edges. Harry immediately looked away just as Hermione said to him,

“Do you see the ceiling? It’s bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_.”

“I know,” Harry said, “I read it too.” But regardless, he looked up into the wondrous inky black sky, it was hard to believe that there was a ceiling there at all and that the Great Hall didn’t simply open up to the heavens. He wondered if he would ever be capable of such amazing magic…

“Did you really?” Hermione responded happily.

“Yeah,” Harry said, “I thought that I should read a bit of extra stuff about the magical world, like you did.” Harry then turned his attention away from the bewitched ceiling towards Professor McGonagall as she placed a patched, frayed, extremely dirty hat on a four-legged stool in front of them. The Hat emanated a truly strange form of magic; he just couldn’t make sense of it… It was like four beings in one, and yet it was merely parts, and yet it was only one being, and yet it wasn’t even a being at all.  It was the strangest magic that Harry had ever felt...  It was human, and yet it was a hat, and yet it was four different human magics, but it wasn't human at all never mind four of them, it was a hat.  Though, it somehow emanated intelligence, great intelligence, also age and wisdom, and somehow boredom and curiosity. How could a hat be bored? How could it be curious? What was it curious about?  Was this strangely magical hat meant to sort them?  How?  Some of his questions were answered as a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth and the hat began to sing:

“ _Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

 

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

 

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

 

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring nerve and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

 

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those daring Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

 

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning_

_Will always find their kind;_

 

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

 

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a thinking cap!”_

So the hat _was_ meant to sort them. What really, _really_ bothered Harry though, was when the Hat had said ‘ _There's nothing hidden in your head/ The Sorting Hat can't see,_ ’ would the Hat be able to see past his Occlumency shields? Would it be able to tell that there _were_ Occlumency shields?? Would it be able to tell that Marvolo was in his head??? He could feel that Marvolo was concerned about this as well, but the man just told him to pay attention to the sorting. He said that it was always useful to know his peers, be they allies, enemies or neither.

“When I call your names, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,” McGonagall said, holding a long roll of parchment. “Abbott, Hannah!” A blond girl with pigtails stumbled out of the line and put on the hat, which fell over her eyes, and sat down. After a moment’s pause, the hat called out,

“HUFFLEPUFF!” the table on their right cheered as Hannah went to sit there. The next girl, a red-head named Susan Bones was also sorted into Hufflepuff, while the boy that came after her, Terry Boot was sorted into Ravenclaw (the table on their left cheered). After him, Mandy Brocklehurst also became a Ravenclaw and then Lavender Brown became the first Gryffindor; the table on the far right cheered. After her, Millicent Bulstrode, a very large and brutish looking girl, became the first Slytherin, the table on the far left cheered. Following her, Michael Corner and Stephen Cornfoot both became Ravenclaws, Vincent Crabbe (one of Draco’s two bodyguards) became a Slytherin and then Tracey Davis became a Ravenclaw as well.

Fay Dunbar became the second Gryffindor, while Kevin Entwhistle was sorted into Ravenclaw; there seemed to be a lot of Ravenclaws so far. Justin Finch-Fletchly became a Hufflepuff, Seamus Finnigan became a Gryffindor, Anthony Goldstein became a Hufflepuff and Gregory Goyle (Draco’s other bodyguard) became a Slytherin. Next to be sorted was Hermione. She grinned at him and Neville before she practically ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. She sat there for only a few moments before the hat announced,

“RAVENCLAW!” Harry and Neville clapped loudly with the Ravenclaw table.

After Hermione, Daphne Greengrass became a Slytherin, Wayne Hopkins and Megan Jones became Hufflepuffs and Sue Li became a Ravenclaw, joining Hermione at the table on the left. Next was Neville. Harry smiled at him as he walked past; the boy gave him a nervous smile back just before he fell over onto the ground. Harry immediately rushed forward to help him up, Neville gave him a grateful smile as he flushed embarrassedly and then made the rest of his way to the stool.

_~You are such a Gryffindor… ~_ Marvolo griped in his head. _~Impulsive and noble with a hero complex…~_

_I do not have a hero complex!_ Harry thought back, to which Marvolo only snorted.

Neville took a little longer than the others to be sorted, but when the hat did finally shout out Neville’s house, Harry was quite surprised.

“GRYFFINDOR!” it shouted. Harry had thought that the boy would be a Hufflepuff. He had to wonder what the hat was thinking to put him in Gryffindor. He would have to ask Neville if he knew why when they met up after the feast. That is, if he didn’t end up in Gryffindor with him like Marvolo said. Though Harry didn’t think that he had a hero complex, (he was just being nice!) he had to agree on the other points, so there was a very good chance that he would end up in the lion house. Regardless, he clapped just as loudly for Neville as he had for Hermione.

Neville ran off the stool still wearing the hat, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to Morag MacDougal. Harry couldn’t help the soft chuckle that escaped him. After receiving the hat from Neville, MacDougal was sorted into Slytherin and she went to join the table on the far left. After her, Ernest Macmillan was sorted into Hufflepuff and then it was Draco’s turn. Harry smiled at the blond and received a smirk in return before the boy swaggered up to the front. The hat had barely touched his head when it screamed,

“SLYTHERIN!” Harry laughed a bit as he clapped for his friend, who looked incredibly pleased with himself as he joined his bodyguards at the table to the far right. After Draco, Roger Malone was sorted into Ravenclaw, Lily Moon became a Hufflepuff and both Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson were sorted into Slytherin.

McGonagall had gotten to the ‘P’s and Harry began to panic all over again. His name would be called soon. What if the hat revealed that Marvolo was in his head to Dumbledore and all of the other teachers?? Padma Patel was sorted into Ravenclaw while her twin sister Pavarti was sorted into Gryffindor. What if he was taken to Azkaban for having a part of a Dark Lord in his head? What if he was taken to St. Mungo’s because they thought he was crazy for having another person talking to him in his own mind? Sally-Anne Perks was sorted into Gryffindor. What if they tried to kill him? What if they tried to kill Marvolo?? McGonagall called his name. What if they tried to take Marvolo away from him? Harry absentmindedly switched his amazement program out for his curiosity, stage-fright and general worry programs as he began to walk towards the dreaded hat that could see into his mind.

When his name was called, whispers broke out throughout the Great Hall; though Harry barely noticed them, too concerned with his own panicking thoughts. However, the program that was running at the unprotected part of his mind did, fueling the stage-fright that would be presented to anyone attempting to use Legilimency on him. The program caused him to break out into a bit of a sweat, and shake slightly. He paid it no mind as thoughts of Marvolo being taken away from him swirled around in his mind. He flung the soul piece out the door in his Occlumency shield, not wanting him to see how weak he was and how much he needed him. Marvolo had told him that he thought of emotional attachments as weaknesses and unnecessary, but he couldn’t help how he felt about him. He couldn’t help that he had grown attached to him and truly come to care for him. He would rather die again than let them take Marvolo away from him.

He sat on the stool as his body shook slightly from his program. The ancient, magical hat was placed on his head and it dropped over his eyes so that all he could see was darkness.

“ _Interesting…”_ said a small voice in his ear. _“I have never seen a mind such as yours before. To have such strong Occlumency shields at such a young age… And the hybrid of the art that you have created… yes, very interesting indeed…”_ Oh no… the hat could tell he had Occlumency shields! It could tell that the thoughts in the forefront of his mind were just his own form of Occlumency! It could probably see right through them both with its strange magic… What if it could hear his thoughts right now?! What if it could tell that Marvolo was there?! Wait – no! He’d just thought of Marvolo! He had to just stop _thinking_! But how could he meditate and clear his mind while he was panicking like this??

“ _Calm yourself young one.”_ The hat said. _“While I_ can _see through your mental shields, I cannot reveal what I see to anyone else. Do not worry. Your secrets are safe with me, for that is the way I was made.”_ Harry calmed down considerably just as the hat said, _“Wait, what is this? There are three different thought patterns running in this mind… The boy’s, his hybrid Occlumency and another… One which is oddly… familiar.”_ There was a short pause and then the hat exclaimed, _“Tom Marvolo Riddle! I  recognize  your mind from just over fifty years ago! How are there two minds inside of one body?!_ ” there was another pause, this time much longer and then the hat said, _“Tom, you foolish boy… Though, you call yourself by your second name now, in this form.”_

_Marvolo’s full name is Tom Marvolo Riddle?_ Harry thought.

“ _Yes.”_ said the Sorting Hat, _“He was a student here around fifty years ago, a very gifted student as well. But I am not here for Mr. Riddle, no, I sorted him many years ago. Today I am sorting you, Harry. Now let me see…”_ there was yet another pause before the Sorting Hat continued, _“Hmm… while the other inhabitant of your mind was rather easy to sort all of those years ago, you are rather difficult. Very difficult, in fact. Plenty courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. Great loyalty to your ‘Marvolo’ and a budding loyalty to your new friends, you are also quite impulsive at times, yet very curious and capable of deep thought; incredibly hardworking when you want to be. There’s talent, oh my goodness, yes – and a nice thirst to prove yourself, especially to the other inhabitant of your mind. Now that’s interesting… So where shall I put you?”_

_Wherever you think I should go, I guess._ Harry thought to the hat, _Marvolo thinks that I should be in Gryffindor though._

“ _Gryffindor…”_ the hat said, _“Well I suppose he’s quite right, you do belong there. Impulsive and courageous and noble, everything that Gryffindor looked for in his chosen students. You would be the perfect Gryffindor were I to put you there; you already possess all of the traits… But, you could be great, you know. It’s all here in your head, and Slytherin could help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that –”_

_~Slytherin?!~_ Marvolo suddenly interrupted, _~The boy is no Slytherin. You yourself have just said that he would be the perfect Gryffindor.~_

“ _And he would be. As he is, the boy is a Gryffindor through and through, anyone could see that. But I am not just anyone, I am the Sorting Hat. I have been sorting the student of Hogwarts for just around a thousand years, and in all of that time I have gained much experience when it comes to the students. Sometimes, I find that it is better to not place a child in the house in which they belong, but in the house in which they would excel and become greater. Mr. Potter is indeed a true Gryffindor right now, and were he to be sorted into that house then those Gryffindor traits would become even more pronounced. However, Mr. Potter also has the potential to become the greatest of Slytherins. Wit and cunning and ambition, they are all possible for him if he is placed in Slytherin house, where I believe he might shed his Gryffindor traits and become a true Slytherin. It is the boy’s choice of course._

“ _So, Harry, would you like to go to the house where you currently belong? Or the house in which you can achieve greatness?”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I would just like to express how sorry I am for the incredible lateness of this chapter. I have been totally swamped with exams and studying and then once they were over, my computer kept shutting down in the middle of me writing the summary or the notes. This is the third time I've had to write these end notes. Secondly, I'd like to thank everyone who reads this story and leaves comments and Kudos :) you are all my inspiration to keep writing this story :) the last chapter had an incredibly crazy and amazing amount of comments :) ALMOST 50!!! I didn't even think that it was possible to get that many comments on one chapter, but there it is. I am completely blown away by how much people like this story. It just started out as a little pet project on top of my other fanfiction HPFFX, but I have to admit, I've becoe a lot more obsessed with this story than I ever was with the other. And this story is receiving much more of a response, and I repeat, it is absolutely AMAZING!!
> 
> Now, onto The Sorting. I apologize for the cliff-hanger there, but I had gone over my current page limit and it just seemed like the perfect place to end it :) Now, in the comment section of the last chapter, there will people guessing and asking for each house for Harry. Now the options have been cut in half. Do you think that Harry should go to Gryffindor or Slytherin??? Also, what the Sorting Hat said is what I truly believe that he meant when he sorted Harry. Harry in canon is most definitely a Gryffindor, but the Hat never once said that Harry belonged in Slytherin, it said that he would do great there. This is what I think he meant. In canon Harry chose to go to Gryffindor, but In Another life, will he do the same? Or will he choose Slytherin instead?? Leave your guesses in the comment section below!!
> 
> Then there's Neville and Hermione. I thought about this quite a bit, where to put those two. They both have Gryffindor traits, but Hermione is also a perfect Ravenclaw and Neville a perfect Hufflepuff. The reason that I chose Hermione for Ravenclaw was because I believed that she would do much better there. Hermione never had any friends other than Harry and Ron. She didn't relate to the Gryffindor girls. Being sorted into Gryffindor didn't really help her at all. She just wanted to go there so that she could fit in. On the other hand, Neville going into Gryffindor really did help him. He may not have had many (or any) friends in the house, but he eventually reached his true potential, as a true Gryffindor, because he was sorted into that house. And of course, Draco is a Slytherin through and through :) So, I hope that you all don't hate me for where I chose to sort them. And I hope that you didn't find me listing all of the students' names annoying. So, if you enjoyed this chapter or this story in general then please click that Kudos button and leave a comment below :) I ALWAYS respond to comments, even if I do it a little late.


	12. Harry's Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon killed Harry, he died, met his mother and saved Marvolo. Now he is teaching Harry magic and Occlumency. Harry went to Diagon Alley, met Ron who he didn't like and the twins who he liked. On the train, Ron tried to sit with him and become his friend because he's the Boy-Who-Lived but the Twins removed him. Soon after, Neville and Hermione came by and Harry helped Neville find his toad and became friends with the both of them. He explained to him what the Hogwarts houses are really like. When Trevor ran away again Draco, Crabbe and Goyle came by Harry's compartment while the other two were gone .Despite his unnecessary formalities and the fact that he offered friendship as if it was a business deal, Harry took a liking to Draco and accepted his hand in friendship. Then the other two came back and a rivalry for Harry's attention has begun between Draco and Hermione. Draco doesn't like either of Harry's other friends, and they don't like him right back. During the Sorting, Hermione became a Ravenclaw, Neville a Gryffindor and Draco a Slytherin. The Hat has told Harry that he can choose whether he wants to be in Gryffindor or Slytherin, which one will he choose??? Find out in this chapter!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains prejudice, an idiot, hatred of someone based on their lineage and Harry's Choice of where he wants to be sorted!!
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ "This is the Sorting Hat talking." ___

“ _So, Harry, would you like to go to the house where you currently belong? Or the house in which you can achieve greatness?”_ Harry thought about it for a moment. He’d never really been all that interested in greatness, and he didn’t really think he was all that cunning or ambitious. All he wanted to do was learn as much magic as he could, make friends and make Marvolo proud of him. Now that he thought about it, maybe that _was_ ambitious. As for cunning, the Sorting Hat said that if he was sorted into Slytherin then he would _become_ a Slytherin, he was a Gryffindor right now, and Gryffindors weren’t cunning, they were impulsive.

Whichever house that he chose to go to, he had a friend in each of them, so he wouldn’t be alone. If he chose Gryffindor, then he would have Neville there with him, while if he chose Slytherin then he would have Draco. The question was really, did he _want_ to change? He was quite happy with the way that he was right now, and the way that he was right now was a Gryffindor. But at the same time, changing was a part of growing up, a part of life really, and the Sorting Hat seemed to think that this change would be for the better… Would it though?

Marvolo and Draco were Slytherins. Did he want to become like them? Well, Draco probably not. He liked him, but he didn’t like his attitude towards Neville and Hermione. What about Marvolo though? Did he want to be like him? He wanted to make him proud, but did he really want to be _like_ him? The man had tried to take over the wizarding world, had torn his soul apart and led a side of the most recent wizarding war, killed and tortured people. Did he want to be like that? No, of course not. Then again, obviously not all Slytherins were like that. Maybe he wouldn’t be like either of them. Maybe he would just be Harry, but a Slytherin Harry.

This was a decision that would affect him for the next seven years at the very least, and possibly his entire life. Did he want to always stay as he was? Or did he want to change and become more like a Slytherin? He pondered it for a few more minutes, faintly aware that people were whispering throughout the Great Hall. They were wondering what was taking so long. Harry didn’t want to have them wait much longer, so he came to a decision. But then he wondered something…

_What’s your name?_ He thought to the Sorting Hat, _Or are you just called the ‘Sorting Hat’?_ There was a pause before the hat answered,

“ _You are the only student in the entire history of this school to have asked for my name. The only ones who ever learned of it were the Headmasters and the Seers who saw it or simply just knew. I do indeed have a name, Hufflepuff thought it only right that a being with a conscious and intelligence should have a name, though the others called her foolish for it. She didn’t care what they thought, she never did. She named me Alistair.”_ Harry smiled,

_Nice to meet you Alistair,_ Harry thought, _A_ _nd since you can see into my mind, I think you already know my decision._

“ _Yes, I do. And if you’re sure –”_

_I am._ He thought.

“ _Alright then – better be_ SLYTHERIN! _”_

Harry heard Alistair shout the last word to the whole hall. With that one word, all of the whispers throughout the hall went silent. The silence was so deafening that the sound of a single pin dropping could have been heard by every person there. Harry took Alistair off of his head and placed him onto the stool gingerly. He could have sworn that he heard a soft chuckle from the raggedy old hat and a whispered,

“ _Good luck.”_ before he began making his way towards the Slytherin table. The first sound that pierced the deafening silence was the sound of Draco’s clapping as he smiled at him. Harry smiled back, and his clapping was soon joined by Hermione’s and Neville’s and then by Draco’s bodyguards, though he assumed that they were only clapping because Draco was. As he made his way to the Slytherin table, a few other Slytherins and even a few Ravenclaws and a couple Hufflepuffs joined in on the clapping, the only Gryffindors who clapped were Neville and the Weasley twins. Just as he had gotten to his seat beside Draco, a voiced pierced through the Great Hall, bringing the small applause to a sudden halt.

“I should have known you were a slimy snake! And to think, I actually wanted to be your friend!” the voice had come from Ronald Weasley who was standing with the remaining first years, fists clenched, red in the face and shaking with anger. There was silence again for a long while until two identical voices cut through it.

“Shut up Ronikins!” said the Weasley twins in unison.

“He clearly doesn’t want to be your friend.” One of them said,

“We wouldn’t want to be your friend either if we were him.” said the other.

“So what if he’s a Slytherin?” asked the first,

“Even that little Malfoy git is a better friend than you, and he’s a Slytherin.” Draco looked like he was going to respond with something rude until Harry laughed. This sparked a fit of giggles throughout the whole hall, even Draco snickered a little by the end of it. When the laughter had subsided, Ron looked even madder than before, but McGonagall continued with the sorting.

Oliver Rivers was sorted into Hufflepuff, and so was Sophie Roper after him. Sally Smith was sorted into Slytherin, Dean Thomas into Gryffindor and Lisa Turpin into Ravenclaw. Ron was next and he was sorted into Gryffindor; well, at least he got into the house that he wanted. Finally, the last student, Blaise Zabini was sorted into Slytherin. Professor McGonagall then rolled up the parchment and took Alistair the Sorting Hat away.

Albus Dumbledore then stood up, beaming at the students, his arms opened wide as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" he then sat back down and most people clapped and cheered. Harry distinctly noticed that many of the Slytherins didn't, as well as a few older Ravenclaws. He felt an irritation in his mind that didn't belong to him, and next to him, Draco was sneering at the old man. He supposed that Marvolo was not alone in his hatred of the old man, though he did have to wonder what he had done to deserve such hatred.

After a few snide remarks from Draco about his father saying that Dumbledore was the worst thing to have ever happened to Hogwarts, Harry's eyes widened as the previously empty dishes suddenly filled with food. He piled a generous amount onto his plate before engaging into conversation with Draco. The boy was currently going on about his family's mansion and wealth and many house-elves that cooked for them in a rather loud, formal tone. It seemed that the conversation was more for those around them than it was for them. Like he was trying to make a point to the other Slytherins undoubtably listening, warning them just how rich and powerful his family was. Harry sighed, he had started liking Draco when he had dropped the formalities and pretentious ways, they were kind of irritating if he was perfectly honest with himself.

Even though it was a bit rude, he tuned his new friend out a bit to look around at the other Slytherins. Though they had seemed like a rather unfriendly bunch from the outside, while in the midst of them they weren't really all that bad. The majority of them were either focusing on their food or holding polite conversation with their surrounding peers. Some looked to be actually fully engaged with another, but they were few and far between.

He looked over at the Ravenclaw table and spotted Hermione among the first years, she sent him a smile which he happily returned. Then she went back to talking with a couple other first year girls. The Ravenclaw table was much like the Slytherin table in terms of polite conversation, though there were far more people who were fully engaged in talking than at the Slytherin table. He noticed a few of the older years who seemed to be in almost heated debates, yet in a way they were still quite couth about it. It was quite a pleasant thing to see really, the two tables on the left side of the Great Hall were very calming, if a little stuffy.

Looking farther down the hall, he saw at the Hufflepuff table. They, unlike the Ravenclaws right next to them, seemed much more cheerful and animated in their conversations. While it was obvious that many of the Ravenclaws were enjoying their heated debates, the conversations at the Hufflepuff table seemed altogether friendly and joyous. There were no heated debates it seemed, only friends merrily chatting away. It was quite sweet, really.

Last, Harry looked to the complete other end of the hall at the Gryffindor table. He spotted Neville rather quickly and sent him a warm smile. The boy looked up at him a few moments later and the nervous, lost expression on his face turned to an equally warm smile. The conversations at the Gryffindor table seemed the complete opposite of the Slytherin table. Their conversations seemed almost explosive in nature; odd hand and arm movements, wild facial expressions, and clear exaggerated emotions written all over them. Their mannerisms in general were completely uncouth and in some places rather childish. Harry distinctly spotted Ron Weasley stuffing his face with as much food as he could manage; he grimaced a bit in disgust at the sight.

Harry could see why Slytherin and Gryffindor had such a heated rivalry. While Slytherin seemed to pride itself on keeping emotions in check, Gryffindor seemingly had no such pride and let it show in an almost childish way. The way the tables were situated seemed as though it was purposeful that the two houses were separated and that the general energy of the conversations increased from left to right. With Slytherin being the most composed, Gryffindor the least, and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff in between. The general behaviours of each house were so blatantly obvious that Harry was able to see and process all of this in merely a manor of minutes, while Draco drivelled on about his father and wealth.

He had to admit, he was quite glad with his choice of Slytherin house. From his position in the hall, Gryffindor really didn't seem like the better choice at all... They seemed kind of rude and childish for the most part, then again, he wondered how the Slytherins must seem to the Gryffindors. Probably like a bunch of secretive prudes. He wondered how all of the houses looked to the Ravenclaws; or to the Hufflepuffs. It was kind of funny to think about really. This was probably why the house rivalries were so bad, just misconceptions about each house and the way that each of the houses functioned.

After all, even though the Gryffindors as a whole looked like a bunch of rambunctious children, that didn't mean that they all were like that. Neville for one wasn't. Then again, he didn't really seem like a Gryffindor in general. And even though they acted like that while around other Gryffindors, that didn't mean that they would act like that around other people.

Harry looked up at the staff table; there were eighteen people sitting there. In the very middle was Dumbledore, on his right side was a plump witch with grey, flyaway hair and a patched hat, after her was McGonagall. She was sitting beside a dark skinned witch, beside her was a witch who looked even more stern than McGonagall, next to her was an older wizard who was missing one of his arms. After him was a rather odd looking witch with huge glasses that made her look like an insect, followed by a woman with short gray hair that made her look a bit like a bird, beside her was a woman who looked like a very irritable underfed vulture. Last on that side of the table was a witch who had what seemed to be a white cloth on her head.

On the Headmaster's other side was a tiny little wizard with white hair, followed by a man with sallow skin, a hooked nose and a curtain of lanky black hair framing his face. Beside him was a man in a ridiculously large purple turban, followed by a curly haired witch who was talking near constantly to an actual _ghost_ who was sitting beside her (he faintly remembered Fred and George mentioning that their History teacher was a ghost in Diagon Alley). Beside the ghost was a kind looking blond witch. Next to her was the large man who had taken them across the lake, he was so big that although that side of the table had less people, Dumbledore was seated directly in the middle since he took up more than twice the space of a normal man. The last person on that side of the table was a very grumpy looking man with thin gray hair who was glaring at the sea of students as if they were the bane of his existence. He certainly hoped that the man wasn't one of his teachers.

Harry's eyes were once again drawn to the middle of the table as he noticed that the man with the hooked nose and lanky hair was staring at him with a rather odd expression. It was as though he couldn't decide whether to glare at him or look at him with curiosity and the look was like an odd mix of the two. He wondered why.

"Hey Draco," Harry said, interrupting the blond's rambling, "Who's the man with the black hair and, er, rather large nose."

"Oh, that's my Godfather, Severus Snape." he answered immediately without even looking at the man. "Though I suppose we will have to refer to him as Professor Snape in class. Why do you ask?"

"He's giving me kind of a weird look, so I was just wondering..." Draco then looked up at his Godfather just before the man looked away from Harry, towards the man in the turban. Just as the man in the turban turned to speak to Snape as well, hiding his face from Harry's view, he felt an odd feeling in his scar. It wasn't exactly pain, more like an itch or an irritating tickle.

_Marvolo?_ Harry thought to him, _Can you feel that? Do you know what that is?_ there was silence for a long while in Harry's head while Draco told him about his Godfather and all of the amazing potions that he could make. Harry was a little more interractive in this conversation than the last as it seemed like this conversation was actually meant for him, and not to show off to everyone around them. It turned out that Snape had become the youngest Potion's Master in over three centuries when he was only 18, he was also the head of Slytherin House. It was a good few minutes before Marvolo actually responded.

_~I am... unsure of what to make of this sensation. I did indeed feel it as well, though not in the same way as you. It felt like a kind of pull. The feeling is gone now however, so I can't tell much more, if it shows up again then I might be able to–~_

“Harry?” Draco said when Harry had gone quiet for a few moments, “Are you listening?”

“Yeah, yeah I am. Sorry Draco, just got a little distracted.” Draco scoffed before he said,

“Well don't let it happen again.” Harry rolled his eyes, he could se the blond's attitude getting very annoying, very fast... The food had already gone and they were now on desert, but soon that disapeared as well and Dumbledore got to his feet again, the hall almost immediately fell silent.

“Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.” the man then went on to tell them that the Forbidden Forest was forbidden (obviously), that they shouldn't be using magic in the coridors between classes, that Quidditch trials would be held in the second week of the term and that anyone interested in playing should contact the grey-haired bird looking woman who was named Madam Hooch. This caused Draco to grumble about first years being unable to try out for Quidditch, and how he would somehow get his father to allow him to join.

“And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.” a few people laughed at this, but not many. Whispers of suspcious conversation broke out all through the hall, including a few whispers from Draco about not having been informed of this beforehand, and what could possibly be so dangerous that it could kill them painfully, but would still be safe enough to exist in the school.

_~The Malfoy child does have a valid point there...~_ Marvolo said suddenly,  _~What is that old fool planning now..?~_

_Planning?_ Harry asked,  _What do you mean?_ But he didn't recieve an answer and he knew he wasn't going to. Sometimes Harry really wondered what Marvolo did in his head all day when he wasn't talking to him. Then Dumbledore had them all sing the school song, it was honestly the strangest song that Harry had ever heard before, never mind the fact that every student picked their own tune. Once the Weasley twins had finished the last few lines of their slow funeral march rendition to the song, everyone applauded.

“Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here!” Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes, “And now, bedtime. Off you trot.” Harry and Draco walked with the rest of the Slytherin first years behind a prefect until they exited the hall, then Harry dragged Draco to the side to wait for Neville and Hermione like he had planned. Draco grumbled a bit, but finally conceded to waiting, dismissing his bodyguards from him, telling them that he would see them in the dormitory. First to spot and join them was Hermione, she smiled at Harry and gave a pointed look to Draco, which he fully returned. Neville joined them not long after, stumbling a bit on his way towards them.

“Hey Neville,” Harry said with a smile, the round-faced boy smiled back.

“H-hey Harry,” then he paused for a minute before saying, a little awkwardly, “So, S-Slytherin, huh? I-I wasn't really expecting that...”

“I know!” Hermione piped in, “With everything that you said about the houses, I thought for sure that you would be a Gryfindor! I didn't know you were ambitious!” Harry laughed a bit, but before he could answer, the Ravenclaw had turned to Neville and said, “But really Neville, your sorting shocked me the most! I mean, not that you aren't brave or anything, but I just thought you would be a Hufflepuff.” Neville went a little red as he answered,

“Y-yeah... I thought so too. A-and after what Harry said on the t-train I didn't really think it would be all that b-bad, you know? I-I thought I belonged there anyway 'c-cause I'm not all that good at anything, b-but I think I would have been alright going th-there. Th-the hat though, it said that I would do w-well in G-Gryffindor. I t-told it that I probably belong in Hufflepuff, but it d-didn't listen. S-said that I did have Hufflepuff t-traits but that G-Gryffindor would be better for me or s-something... I-I don't know...”

“That's actually a lot like what Alistair told me,” Harry said, at their confused looks he clarified, “Alistair is the Sorting Hat's name.”

“The hat has a name?!” All three of his friends exclaimed.

“Yeah, I asked him. He said that Hufflepuff named him Alistair, even though the other founders all thought that it was dumb to name a hat. But anyway, that's a lot like what Alistair told me, he said that I had all the traits to be a Gryffindor, but that being sorted into Slytherin would lead me to greatness. He said that he does that sometimes with students, and instead of putting them in the house that they actually belong, he puts them in the house where they'll become better or achieve greatness or something like that. That's probably what he did for you Neville.”

“Really?!” Hermione exclaimed excitedly, “That's fascinating! To think that a hat is smart enough to not only see into our minds and tell what house we belong, but also have the logical reasoning to understand where we might do better. That's really interesting, I wish that I had thought to ask those questions during my sorting... I wonder if there's anyway to talk to the Sorting Ha– I mean, Alistair again.”

“W-what did Alistair say during your s-sorting Hermione?” Neville asked.

“Oh, he said that I really belonged in Ravenclaw, but I could choose to go into Gryffindor if I wanted to. He said that I fit every one of the traits in Ravenclaw and that Rowena herself would be happy to have someone like me in her house,” at this point, she blushed, “But he said that I was also brave and stubborn, especially about things that I feel strongly about. So even though he said that I wouldn't have fit the house as well as Ravenclaw, I could have chosen to go there. And, honestly, if Harry hadn't told me about all of the house traits on the train, then I probably would have chosen to go there, but knowing what I know now because of him, I chose to go to Ravenclaw.” Harry smiled, glad that he had helped Hermione to not botch her own sorting and end up in a house where she would have been less suited.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Draco said suddenly, until that point he had been standing uncharacteristically quietly next to Harry, silently glaring at the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor that were talking to Harry, “That ratty old hat actualy  _ talked _ to you? Inside of you  _ heads _ ?!” they all looked at him a little confused for a moment before Harry remembered what Draco's sorting had been like.

“Oh yeah! Alistair barely touching your head before sorting you into Slytherin. I guess he had absolutely no trouble with you. If he'd had to think about it at all then you probably would have heard him talking in your head too.” Draco looked quite smug at knowing that he was so very Slytherin that Alistair hadn't even had to think about it before he had sorted him.

Harry felt the new presense before he heard the man. The man's magic made Harry want to get as far away from him as possible, not because it was frightening or because he was powerful (though he most definitely was) but because of the feelings coming from it. The magic was absolutely  _ saturated _ with grief and despair and longing and anger and hatred. He had to wonder how one man could take so many feelings, what could cause such horrible feelings? Who was this? He heard him before he saw him.

“Mr. Malfoy, is there a reason why you aren't on your way to the Slytherin dormitories like the rest of your house?”

“Sev–I mean, Professor Snape. I would like to introduce you to my friend, Harry Potter. Harry, this is my Godfather that I told you about, Severus Snape.” Harry smiled a bit weakly at the man, still being affected by his negative magic, but managed a polite,

“Nice to meet you, Professor Snape.” just as the man's lip curled up in a sneer. He chose to ignore that, though he couldn't understand why he would sneer at him, or why he had looked at him the way that he had during the feast. He figured that it would be best to continue being polite to him (being polite and formal really seemed to do wonders. He doubted that the goblins would have been nearly as friendly if he hadn't been. He also doubted that he would currently be friends with Draco if he hadn't been. Though he prefered to not speak formally, it was useful and a little bit fun sometimes.) “These are my other friends, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger. Draco has told me that you are a really good Potions Master.” Harry smiled internally when he felt Marvolo's brief approval at his approach towards his Professor. However, Snape only sneered more at him in response.

“I am fully aware of who you are Mr.  _ Potter _ . Now would you care to explain why you and your  _ friends _ are loitering in the halls when you should be in your respective dormitories?” Harry felt a bit ruffled at the tone and wanted to glare back at the man and come back at him with an insult or something, but he decided to continue the polite approach. Afterall, this was Draco's Godfather as well as his Professor and new Head of House.

“Well Sir, because that we were sorted into different houses, I wanted us to meet up after the feast for a few minutes to talk because we wouldn't have been able to if we didn't. I'm sorry if we've broken any rules, we didn't mean to. But I was the one who said that the four of us should meet up here no matter what houses we were sorted into.” the dark man with the depressing magic glared at him while he said,

“Is this true, Mr. Malfoy?” Draco seemed very confused by his Godfather's behaviour, but answered regardless.

“Yes, it's true. Harry insisted that we all meet up here after the Sorting as he didn't think that we would end up in the same house. Though I don't know why he wanted  _ them _ to come as well.” he said, jerking his head towards Hermione and Neville, “He seems strangely fond of them, though I personally don't approve of such company.” with a jerky nod of his head, Snape replied,

“I see... Five points from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Though I loathe to take points from my own house, it seems as though Mr.  _ Potter _ is in need of some proper discipline. You three have inconvenianced both myself and now your other teachers, not to mention the prefects who were meant to escort you down to your common rooms. Longbottom! Granger!” both of them flinched when their names were called. Neville seemed absolutely petrified by the man and Hermione seemed horrified and guilty over having gotten into trouble. “Professors McGonagall and Flitwick should still be in the Great Hall, ask them to escort you to your dormitories. I will be taking Misters Malfoy and  _ Potter _ myself.” 

The two quickly scurried into the Great Hall to find (supposedly) their heads of house and to get away from Snape as fast as possible.

“Follow me.” Snape said abruptly as he strode past them, his long black cloak rippling out behind him in a majestic sort of fashion. Both Slytherin boys gave each other rather confused looks as they followed their Head of House silently through the castle and down into the dungeons.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was once again a CRAZILY AMAZING amount of comments in the last chapter! 50 comments!!! I am just sooo amazed by how much people are enjoying this story and how much feedback I've been getting :) I really hope that people continue to love this story as much as they have been :) It's just... I can't even put into words just how amazing this is :) for MY STORY to have gotten such an amazing response... just... wow :) I can only ask that you continue liking this story, continue hitting that Kudos button and continue commenting on the chapters :) I promise to answer each and every comment, no matter how short or long :)
> 
> As for the Sorting Hat's name, I did not come up with it. I saw it in another story and I liked it. And before you ask why Harry was the only person who ever asked for the Sorting Hat's name, it is because Harry was the only one to ever have a long meaningful conversation with the Hat. Most eleven year olds just have the hat on their head, it sorts them and they're done. But the hate actually talked to Harry. Also, with Marvolo in his head, Harry has become more aware of things.
> 
> So, Harry was sorted into Slytherin after all!! :) In the comments section in the last chapter, I actually counted up what everyone said for their preference of house. Even though I already had it decided from the beginning and it wouldn't really matter what people said, it wouldn't be changing. But I was so shocked and incredibly happy with the results of it, so I figured that I would share :) of the people who mentioned Harry's house at all in their comment, 4 people said that they didn't care what house Harry was sorted into, 16 people said that they wanted him in Slytherin and not a single solitary person said that they would prefer Harry to be in Gryffindor :) I am absolutely AMAZED by this :) And as this is what I was planning on having happen all along, I was just so happy to see all of the people who support Slytherin Harry :) I was so worried about disappointing people with Harry's house, but as it turns out, I had absolutely nothing to worry about :) I love Slytherin Harry and I'm glad that the people who are reading this (at least the ones who took the time to comment) do too :) 
> 
> Please leave Kudos and/or a comment below if you liked this chapter or the story in general :) Or even if you hated it, go ahead and leave a comment telling me so. I promise to answer each and every comment that I get :) In the next chapter, Harry will be introduced to the Slytherin common room and dormitories, will get his schedule and will go to his first couple of classes :) I hope you come back to read it in about a week :)


	13. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon killed Harry, he died, met his mother and saved Marvolo who is now teaching Harry magic and Occlumency. Harry went to Diagon Alley, met Ron who he didn't like and the twins who he liked. On the train, Ron tried to sit with him and become his friend because he's the Boy-Who-Lived but the Twins removed him. Soon after, Neville and Hermione came by and Harry helped Neville find his toad and became friends with the both of them. He explained to him what the Hogwarts houses are really like. When Trevor ran away again Draco, Crabbe and Goyle came by while the other two were gone. Despite his unnecessary formalities and the fact that he offered friendship as if it was a business deal, Harry took a liking to Draco and accepted his hand in friendship. Then the other two came back and a rivalry for Harry's attention has begun between Draco and Hermione. Draco doesn't like either of Harry's other friends, and they don't like him right back. During the Sorting, Hermione became a Ravenclaw, Neville a Gryffindor and Draco and Harry Slytherins. They met up to talk after the sorting and got in trouble with Snape who is now leading the Slytherin boys down to their Dormitories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains prejudice, a new look at Slytherins, a rather violent dream and Harry's first couple classes.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ ___

The castle grew steadily colder as the two eleven year olds followed their head of house to their dormitory in silence. Harry noticed that Draco continued to give his Godfather odd looks, but Snape didn't return a single one. They had been walking for what felt like forever when Snape fianlly paused in front of a stretch of bare, damp stone wall in the dungeons.

“Optimus.” he spoke in a language which Harry didn't understand, yet sounded vaguely familiar for some reason... A stone door concealed in the wall slid open and Snape marched through it, followed by Harry and Draco.

“Ah, Professor Snape.” said the female Slytherin Prefect who was meant to have lead them down to the dungeons. “It seems that we are missing two of the first years, I thought it best to wait for you before continuing with the other nine – oh, and it seems you've brought them.” she said once she noticed Harry and Draco behind Snape.

The Slytherin common room, in Harry's opinion, was beautiful; the same kind of beautiful as the night sky was. It was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains, giving it an ancient sort of look. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them which held a sort of elegant beauty to it. Scattered about the room were many high-backed chairs and low-backed leather sofas, all coloured black and dark green. There was a blue-green hue to the room as a dim light of that colour came through the ornate windows, each with a unique design on them. Some of snakes, others seemed only like abstract patterns, yet still had a certain serpentine quality to them. The whole room had a dark, ancient elegance to it that Harry truly loved, and he had already begun feeling quite at home in this room.

“Yes, Ms. Farley.” Snape said to the prefect, interrupting his mezmorized thoughts. “It seems that Mr. _Potter_ wished to have a little chat with his friends from other houses and decided to drag Mr. Malfoy along with him. This has caused him to lose Slytherin five house points.” after Snape's words all of the eyes in the common room were turned on him in glares, and Harry wasn't sure if it was because he had lost Slytherin five points or because he had been talking to people from other houses. He decided that it was probably both. It was a very intimidating feeling, considering the fact that it seemed like the entirity of the Slytherin house was currently in the common room.

“I see.” the prefect said, also giving Harry a cold look. “Should I continue with the welcome speech Sir, or would you like to speak now?” After Snape told her to continue and that he would talk afterwards, Harry and Draco went to stand by the other nine Slytherin first years as 'Ms. Farley' began to speak.

“As I was saying, welcome to Slytherin house, I am Gemma Farley, a fifth year prefect. As you all likely know, our emblem is the serpent, the wisest of creatures and our house colours are emerald green and silver. This common room is located in the dungeons and its windows look out into the depths of the Black Lake, don't be startled if you see something swimming past, we often see the giant squid swooshing by and sometimes there will be the occasional merfolk or grindilow. Our house ghost is the Bloody Baron, don't ask him how he got bloodstained though, he doesn't like it. The password to the common room changes every fortnight, right now it is 'Optimus', which if you didn't know, is latin for 'The Best' which is what Slytherins are; new passwords will be posted on the noticeboard. Never bring anyone from another house into our common room or tell them our password. No outsider has entered it for more than seven centuries and we would like to keep it that way.

“You have likely heard from competing houses that Slytherins are supposedly 'evil' or 'Dark', but you can't just take what you hear at face value. I'm not going to deny that Slytherin has produced its fair share of 'Dark' witches and wizards, but 'evil' is a matter of perspective. What we value above all else is cunning and ambition, along with wit, a good sense of self-preservation and a respect for magic and the old traditions which are being lost to us because of the influence of the _muggle_ culture.

“However, despite the fact that about a quarter of Hogwarts' students are sorted into this house, the remainder of the school tend to view us all in a bad light. Not only the students, but some of the teachers as well. It is because of this that we must show a united front. Watch out for each other, because no one else in this Circe forsaken school is going to. If you have an issue with another student in this house, then deal with it in the comon room or in the dormitories. Disunity in a house is a _weakness_ and in Slytherin we will not tolerate weaknesses. Procede with caution when making friends with members of other houses.” here, she looked right at Harry.

“Many of the students will use something like friendship to attack or betray you. Your own personal relationships are your own business, but don't bring the rest of Slytherin down with you if you make the wrong choice in friends. Some Ravenclaws aren't so bad, they can be good for intelligent conversations, but don't expect loyalty from them. They are well known for even turning against their own housemates to further their marks. Hufflepuffs are most certainly loyal, but most would never be caught dead being loyal to a Slytherin. Just because they're known for loyalty doesn't mean they won't betray you, loyalty doesn't mean they're loyal to _you_. You all likely know about the house rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor, so I suggest you steer clear of them in general. They aren't loyal, they can't hold an intelligent conversation, one of their _actual_ house traits is being impulsive and not thinking, and they tend to view themselves as heroes. This of course makes us the villains in their minds. Idiots...

“Though I'm sure the Professor could tell you this himself, he is a Slytherin as well, and we protect our own. Many of the other teachers won't listen to the word of a Slytherin. I myself have gotten into trouble I don't know how many times because a teacher believed another students lies instead of the truth that I told them, for the sole reason that I am a Slytherin and that automatically means 'untrustworthy'. Even to the teachers who are supposed to be fair and impartial to _all_ students. Professor Snape is our Head of House, go to him and he will make sure that you are treated fairly. Welcome to Slytherin house, young snakes. Good luck.” Harry wasn't sure if he was supposed to clap or not, he brought his hands together a few times, but when he noticed that no one else was doing the same, he immediately stopped.

“Thank you, Ms. Farley.” Snape drawled as he stood up from the chair which he had been sitting in. “Though, I would like to ammend what she has said about coming to me... While it is true that the discrimination of Slytherin students is completely ridiculous, I don't want you running to me about every little thing you think is 'unfair'. That would be a collousal waste of my time and yours. You are Slytherins, you are cunning and ambitious, that is why you are here. As such, I expect you to be self-sufficient. However, I do hold meetings with each and every student in this house on a regular basis. Though given the amount of students, you will only get three or four schduled meetings with me throughout the year. I will be starting with the first years, followed by the seventh years who will be taking their N.E.W.T.s this year, followed by the fifth years who will be taking their O.W.L.s, then the second, sixth, fourth and third years in that order. After that it will be random. Some of you I may get through twice before the Christmas holidays, others only once.

“The schedule for these meetings will be posted on a noticeboard, if you miss your meeting then you will not get another one to replace it and I will _not_ be happy. Do not be late. Also posted on the noticeboard are Quidditch details along with information about the few clubs this school has to offer and the passwords to the common room. You are welcome to give your input in terms of the password, simply write on the password parchment and it will be taken into consideraion. Do your work, hand it in on time, read ahead in your books and _don't_ make a fool out of yourself and this house. I will not tolerate loss of the House points. If you happen to lose some,” here he looked pointedly at Harry, “Then be sure you get them back, doubled. Slytherin has won the house cup for the last sevenyears and I would like to keep it that way. I believe I have made myself clear to you all. Goodnight.” then with one last sneer directed towards Harry, the man (who truly did look like an over-grown bat) left the common room.

The room then quickly emptied out of students as they made their way to bed. Gemma Farley led the first years to their dormitories, explaining that the Slytherin dormitories are aparently the largest of the four houses. The location of the dungeons makes for much more space and the nature of a Slytherin demands privacy, so each student only has to share a dorm room with one other person of the same gender. Each dorm room has its own private bathroom which only the two of them will have to share. Draco immediately grabbed Harry's arm, glaring daggers at the two other Slytherin boys who weren't his bodyguards, as if daring them to say something, they didn't. Harry snorted.

It was wordlessly decided afterwards that Crabbe and Goyle would share a room, leaving the last two boys to share a room. Harry couldn't quite remember their first names but he was pretty sure that their last names were Zabini and Nott. Zabini's name started with a 'B' didn't it? Or it might have been an 'S'... He couldn't remember Nott's name at all. The girls all paired themselves off as well, but since there was five of them one of them had to room alone, though she seemed quite happy about that. Harry faintly remembered seeing her at King's Cross station, she was the girl with the pug-like face. After Gemma Farley had finished explaining the rooms to them, she directed the boys towards their dorm rooms and lead the girls towards theirs.

The dorm room was just as beautiful as the common room was. In the room were two ancient four-poster beds with green silk hangings and bedspreads embroidered with silver thread. Medieval tapestries depicting the adventures of supposedly famous Slytherins covered the walls and four beautiful silver lanturns hung down from the ceiling, which was made of the same rough stone as in the common room. The parts of the wall which weren't covered with tapestries was also made of that stone. The floor had a thin, dark green, velveteen carpet. Draco immediately went towards the bed on the right which had his bag at the base of it. It looked like a normal school bag, if rather nice, but Harry knew that it must be more than that. His own little bag was resting on the end of his bed, along with–

“Hedwig!” he exclaimed at seeing the beautiful bird. She immediately flew over to him and landed on his shoulder. He pet her softly while telling her how he had missed her, Marvolo scoffed at him in his head.

 _Shut up._ Harry thought back at him. Then after wishing Draco a goodnight, he climbed into bed, and it was the most _comfortable_ bed he had _ever_ been in. He sighed contentedly before he closed his curtains and created a bubble of silence around himself. He didn't want Draco to hear his nightmares. He then fell back onto his incredibly soft pillow and slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep...

*

His sleep didn't stay peaceful for long and he was very glad that he had put up the sound insulating bubble around himself last night... He had woken up screaming after dreaming that a giant version of Vernon Dursley had smashed into Hogwarts while he was in the Great Hall, grabbed him up from his seat along with Draco, Hermione and Neville, before he threw the latter three onto the floor, which was far bellow them, and ground into them with his boot. Vernon had then told him that he would never have friends as he was a worthless freak. Then Vernon had somehow shoved him into his cupboard even though they had been nowhere near his cupboard before. As the little door was slammed in his face by a giant hand, he screamed to be let out. This was when he had woken up, in a cold sweat, with a rough throat from all of his screaming and tangled up in his green, silk sheets.

Harry wasn't sure what time it was, but given the fact that Draco was still asleep, he assumed that he would have time to take a shower before breakfast. He was right, even after he had finished with his slightly-longer-than-usual shower, Draco still wasn't up yet. He considered going back to sleep, but given what his sleep always seemed to become, he thought better of it. While Harry was thinking about what he could do to pass the time, Draco stirred.

“Morning,” Harry said cheerfully.

“Uhg...” Draco groaned, “You're one of those 'morning people' aren't you?” Harry laughed and Draco groaned again. Harry made his bed while Draco took a shower, when he came back the blond raised his eyebrows at him, “You know you don't have to do that, right? That's what the house elves are for.”

“There are house elves here?” Harry asked, “It didn't mention that in _Hogwarts, A History_.”

“Of course there are house elves here, they don't expect us to clean up after ourselves, do they? That's servant work.” Harry sighed, sometimes he wondered why he had agreed to be friends with Draco in the first place. He was just so... spoiled. It was like they had nothing in common at _all_.

“Well, I like making my bed.” Harry said, “I like to clean up my own messes and not make someone else do it.” he didn't particularily like the idea of house elves, it reminded him a lot of how he had been treated over the last ten years. Draco shook his head at him.

“You're weird.” he said with a snort.

The moment Harry walked into the common room, it seemed that all conversation stopped. Some of them turned to glare at him, while most pointedly avoided his eye. As he left the common room with Draco, he could swear that he heard them start whispering again. As he walked towards the Great Hall with Draco he could hear whispers following him, some of them were loud enough for him to hear,

“There, look.”

“Where?”

“Next to the Malfoy kid.”

“Wearing the glasses?”

“Did you see his face?”

“Did you see his _scar_?!”

“He's in _Slytherin_ though!”

“Do you think he's Dark?”

“I don't know... He defeated You-Know-Who...” Malfoy scoffed,

“Could they _be_ anymore obvious? At least the Slytherins had the decency to stop talking when you came by. The _nerve_ of _all_ of them, though.” Harry smiled, maybe being friends with Draco wasn't so bad after all.

At breakfast, the Heads of House all handed out their weekly schedules for their classes. The first year Slytherins all got a small map of the school as well. The first years had three periods everyday. Two in the morning, then lunch, then one in the afternoon that was slightly longer. The schedule told them what class they had and what house they shared each class with, Harry smiled, he hadn't known that they would be sharing classes with the other houses! Now he could see Neville and Hermione more often. Next to him, Draco groaned,

“Ugh, first class is Defense with the _Gryffindors_. First thing on a Monday! Ridiculous... I wonder if I could get my father to have them change the schedule.” Harry just laughed at him, “Oh, of course _you're_ happy. You get to see your little squib friend–” Harry gave him a pointed look and he immediately shut up.

“Hey Neville.” Harry said happily after they had left the Great Hall to begin making their way towards Defense Against the Dark Arts.

“H-hey Harry.” Neville replied happily, then he gave Draco a wary look before turning back to Harry. “D-do you know w-where we're supposed to go for Defense Against the D-dark Arts?”

“You didn't get a map?”

“You got a m-map?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, “All of the first year Slytherins got it with their schedules.”

“Oh.” said Neville, “W-well none of the G-Gryffindors did...” Harry thought that it was kind of weird that the Slytherin first years got maps, but the Gryffindors didn't, but he brushed it aside, it wasn't really important. On their way to class, the two boys talked about what had happened after Snape had taken Harry and Draco away. With Draco joining in occasionally, either with a pompous insult towards Neville or simply a statement suposedly directed at both of them, but only looking at Harry.

After Snape had sent Neville and Hermione away last night, they had found their heads of house just like Snape had said they would, still in the Great Hall. Hermione had been absolutely mortified over getting into trouble and losing house points on the first day. Professor Flitwick was very nice and understanding about it all, but McGonagall was a little snipy. The teachers had lead them together most of the way and Flitwick had been very excited about the house unity being shown among the first years on the very fist day, and he only hoped that it would last. After a bit they had parted ways and he'd said 'goodbye' to Hermione before she was taken by Flitwick the rest of the way towards Ravenclaw Tower and he was taken towards Gryffindor Tower.

McGonagall had then taken him to a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress, said the password and left. Harry had been confused here and said that when Snape had brought him and Malfoy to the Slytherin Dungeons he had actually stayed to give announcements to the whole house. Neville had been surprised by this and had told him that McGonagall had definitely not done that. And that all of the students were already in there dormitories when he had gotten there.

When they had arrived in the class nearly all of the other Slytherins were already there with a few Gryffindors. It was very clear where the dividing line between the Slytherins and Gryffindors was. Draco absolutely refused to sit anywhere near the Gryffindors, so Neville ended up being the only Gryffindor on the 'Slytherin side' of the room with him on Harry's one side and Draco on the other. Throughout the entire lesson, Ron Weasley had glared at either Neville, Harry or Draco.

Their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was an incredible let-down. Harry had read about it and honestly expected it to be kind of fun, but it really wasn't. He hoped that it was because it was the first lesson that it was so dull, but somehow he doubted that it would get any better. Professor Quirrell, the man in the outrageous purple turban was an incredibly nervous man who stuttered so much it was almost difficult to understand him and jumped every time someone spoke out of turn. He was practically afraid of his own shadow and it made Harry wonder why he was teaching this course in the first place. His magic was well below average and he didn't cast a single spell the whole period. His turban was kind of interesting though, it was giving off a small bit of magic itself. Maybe it was a magical turban.

 _You would be a_ much _better teacher Marvolo._ Harry thought to the man about half way through the lesson, which wasn't so much a lesson as it was the students questioning him about his so-called encounter with a vampire clan. _I learned so much from you in only two months! This 'Quirrell' seems like he's practically afraid of his own shadow._ Marvolo chuckled.

_~Funny you should say that Harry, I actually applied for the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Twice in fact.~_

_Really???_ Harry thought, _You?! All powerful, former Dark Lord Voldemort, terror of the Great Wizarding War,_ you _applied to be a teacher at Hogwarts??_

_~I find it amusing that you're so surprised by this when you seemed rather adimant that I should be teaching the subject instead, a mere moment ago. Yes, I did apply for a mere teaching job. I felt that I could positively impact the Wizarding World if I influenced the next generation. Maybe I could encourage change by getting into the minds of the young, so to speak. The first time I applied the old Headmaster, Armando Dippet claimed that I was too young and inexpirienced for the job and that I should perhaps seek out new expiriences and training before becoming a teacher. So, for the next decade I travelled the world, learning all I could about the Dark Arts, both for my own enjoyment and enlightenment as well as to ensure I was an expert in the subject. However, when I returned to apply yet again for the job, who would be the new Headmaster but Albus Dumbledore himself. He seemed to be conviced that I had some nefarious scheme in mind and refused me the job._

_~I am not a forgiving man Harry, and I don't take defeat or rejection lightly. So on my way out of the castle, I cursed the post. Not a single teacher can stay in the post, for one reason or another, for more than a year unless I personally wish them to stay. Dumbledore is probably running out of people who are foolish enough to take a job that has lead many to accidents, disapearances and a few to death. The applicants are likely in the single digits so I'm assuming this 'Quirrell' is the best he could get. Luckily though, you will only have to put up with him for a year at most.~_ there was silence in Harry's head for a bit as Quirrell stuttered an answer to a Gryffindor boy named Seamus Finnigan who had asked about his turban which had apparently been given to him by an African prince.

 _That is so amazing!_ Harry thought finally, _How did you_ do _that?! Just curse a job like that! How can magic even_ do _that?!_

_~Idiot boy, as I have told you before, magic is capable of anything. The only limitations on it are those that men inflict upon themsleves by creating laws against it or fooling themselves into thinking that magic has limits; or limitations that have been inflicted upon them by their own blatent lack of power. It only took the right amount of power and a good amount of will and intelligence in order to create this curse which has now lasted for over forty years.~_

_Forty years?! Wow..._ Harry wondered if he'd ever be capable of something as amazing as that. Magic was so awesome and had absolutely endless possibilities to it. He wondered if he would ever cease being surprised and amazed by all the things it could do. Well, surprised maybe, but he didn't think that he would ever stop being amazed.

By the end of the class, Harry had learned far more from Marvolo's little explanation about the curse on the job than he had from Quirrell's entire lesson. Not only that, but he _still_ hadn't gotten to try out his wand yet. The next class he had was Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs. Once again there was a rather clear division between the Slytherins and the other house in the room, only this time the Hufflepuffs seemed almost scared of them. Harry and Draco sat on the Slytherin side of the room near Crabbe and Goyle. McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor House was their Transfiguration teacher. She was clever but strict, the first thing that she had done when class began was give them a stern talking to.

“Transfiguration is some of the most complex and incredibly dangerous magic that you will be learning at Hogwarts. As such, anyone messing around in my classroom will leave and not come back.” at this point she had eyed the Slytherins, eyes narrowed, “You have all been warned.” she had then changed her desk into a goat and back again, they were all very impressed and Harry couldn't wait to try out his wand. It was like an itch under his skin that he desperately needed to scratch and the feeling was coming from the wand currently resting in his robe pocket. It longed to be used, calling to his magic in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant, yet was beggining to become rather irritating.

The class grumbled a bit when McGonagall told them that they wouldn't be turning furniture into animals for a long time. McGonagall then began writing on the bored and instructed them to take notes. Harry understood some of it from already having read all of their text books, and the stuff that he didn't understand, he asked Marvolo about. The notes consisted of the nature of Transfiguration, though Marvolo told him that they were barely scratching the surface of it.

They stated that magic has the capabilities to bend the 'Laws of Physics' that muggles believe so strongly in. Magic is the very core and basis of our world, as such it has the power to change things that otherwise cannot be changed. The world has a natural way in which it is meant to be, a match is a match and a needle is a needle. The Transfiguration which they would be learning in class for the next five if not seven years would not permanently change the composition of the mass that makes up the object. They will merely be changing it, confusing the atoms and molecules and convincing them that they ought to be something else, yet the atoms and molecules themselves are still the atoms and molecules of the object that it once was, only held to the shape they become through magic.

Which is why, after a certain amount of time, a transfigured object will revert back to its previous form. The only way to make a transformation permanent is to transfigure the object on a molecular level and actually change the makeup of the atoms and molecules themselves. However, even the most powerful witches and wizards are incapable of such a feat as it requires a lot of power, dedication and study. It requires a knowledge of the function and makeup of atoms and molecules and what precisely to do to change these specific atoms and molecules into another set of specific atoms and molecules. However, this form of Transfiguration is far too dangerous and explosive to even be attempted at Hogwarts, as well as being (unless under certain ministry-allowed circumstances) very illegal. So, they would only be learning how to change one object into another by confusing the atoms and molecules, and not fundamentally changing them.

Harry could see that the information that they had been given went way over the heads of the other eleven year olds in the room, and Harry was certain that if he hadn't had Marvolo with him then the majority of it would have went far over his head as well. Even if he _had_ read the books, which again he might not have done so thouroughly if not for Marvolo. After being told what the spell was, they were each given a match and were instructed to turn it into a needle. Harry pulled out his holly and phoenix feather wand, it hummed in his hand in, what he could only describe as, anticipation. He said the spell and pointed his wand at the match and–

Nothing happened.

Absolutely nothing. He felt the humming of anticipation in his hand, like it was still waiting for something. He'd said the spell, wasn't something supposed to happen? Anything? But the wand hadn't reacted to what he'd said, it was still humming in anticipation. Why? He tried again. Still nothing.

 _~Idiot boy,~_ Marvolo started and Harry sighed in relief, now he would know what he did wrong. _~Have you not been listening to a single word I've said to you over these past two months?! You must will your magic to do what you wish. Simply pointing a wand and speaking skewed latin won't turn a match into a needle. You have to want it. You have to convince it that it in fact_ is _a needle. You must force the cells to bend to your will and become what_ you _wish them to be.~_ he really did feel like an idiot now. Of course that's why it wasn't working! Whenever he had done wandless magic he had always willed his magic to do what he wanted. The presense of a wand made it no different.

He grasped his wand firmly in his hand, pointed it at the match stick, pictured the image of a sewing needle in his head, told himself firmly that the match in front of him looked exactly like that. He _wanted_ it to look like that. Then he spoke the spell,

“ _Fieriverto_.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, first I just want to say that I apologize that I didn't post this chapter yesterday or the day before like I had meant to and told a few people in the comments section that I would. I had some problems with my laptop and internet again. But, let's look past that. It's up now and I would dearly like to know what you think :) About both the speeches about the Slytherins given by Emma Farely and Severus Snape, and about what you think of Harry's first classes :) And of course, anything else that you wish to comment about :) I answer every comment that I get no matter how short or small, so if you have any questions or concerns, then ask away and I will answer your to the best of my abilities :)
> 
> I'd also like to express my overwhelming joy at once again the amazing amount of comments on the last chapter :) 45! And on a chapter that wasn't as suspenseful or interesting as the few before it! Also, this story now has over 300 comments and over 600 Kudos!! That's just absolutely crazy! And I appreciate every single one so much. I also appreciate the 125 people who have liked my story enough to bookmark it :) Thank you so much for taking such an interest in my story :) So if you liked this story then please hit that Kudos button if you haven't already and please leave a comment below telling me what you think, whether good or bad. And if you've noticed some flaw like a typo then please let me know, my spell-check has mysteriously stopped working and I have edited it many times before posting it, but I'm human and I may have missed something :P
> 
> Also, in case you were wondering and even if you weren't, 'Fieriverto' means 'change' and turn into'. Meaning that it's the most basic transfiguration spell that can be used for absolutely anything, though it may not be best suited for everything. I invented it. Also, thank you all so much for reading this story, and I hope that you will continue to read it when I post the next chapter in about a week :)


	14. Friends and Classes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter is a very unusual boy. For one thing, he died when his uncle beat him one time and then came back to life. Through this, he met his dead mother and met Marvolo. Since then, Voldemort's soul piece has been teaching Harry magic. Harry went to Hogwarts and became friends with Draco, Hermione and Neville (the former two hate each other and are constantly glaring at each other and fighting for Harry's attention). Harry was sorted in Slytherin and Hermione into Ravenclaw. He got in trouble and lost points on the first day and now the other Slytherins (besides Draco of course) really don't like him. People are beginning to wonder if Harry will go dark, Ron Weasley hates him irrevocably and all Harry wants to do is learn as much magic as he can, make friends and make Marvolo proud of him. He had his first Defense class and was thoroughly disappointed by Quirrell. He is currently in his first Transfiguration class and is having a bit of trouble using magic with his wand. But Marvolo reminds him to will his magic to do what he wants. Will the spell work now??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains lots and lots of prejudice
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ ___

“ _Fieriverto_.” the reaction was instintaneous. Unlike the last time where he had felt nothing but the wand's anticipation humming against his skin, _this_ time he felt a sudden pull on his magic. Like it was suddenly being drawn up through his arm and into his wand. All of this happened in a split second and the next thing he knew, the match was no longer a match, it was a needle. Harry smiled at his success, McGonagall noticed and picked up the match turned needle to inspect it.

“Well done, Mr. Potter.” she said, “Did you do this yourself?”

“Yes, ma'am.” he replied, still smiling. It might have just been his imagination, but for a moment he thought he saw a suspicious look cross McGonagall's usually stoic face, but then it was gone.

“Well then, Mr. Potter, let's see if you can turn the needle back, the spell this time is _Revertiverto_.” she then placed the needle back on his desk and waited. Harry pointed his wand at the match-turned-needle and performed the new spell in front of her.

“ _Revertiverto._ ” this time he pictured a match in his mind and willed the needle to become what it used to be. If the name of the spell was anything to go by, it probably reverted the object back to what it used to be. He felt the same pull on his magic and he could tell that his wand was pleased that it was being used again. The needle immediately became a match again. This spell had used less magic than the other one had. He looked up at McGonagall to find that she had a small smile on her face.

“Well done, Mr. Potter.” she said, though she sounded far more sincere this time. “Five points to Slytherin. You know, your father had quite a knack for Transfiguration as well.”

“Really?” Harry said brightly, his face lighting up at the words. That was the first good thing he'd heard about his father from someone living. McGonagall's small smile turned a bit sad,

“Yes, your father was one of the most talented students I've ever had the pleasure to teach. He was a natural at it, a true prodigy in the subject. Though, he was a bit of a troublemaker; I can't tell you how many times I felt like ripping out my hair because of that father of yours. Always up to mischeif, him and his friends...” the woman seemed almost lost in memories until she snapped out of it and said, “Now I want you to practice those two spells until the end of class. Maybe try turning the match into something other than a needle, but don't force yourself. The last thing you need is a trip to the Hospital Wing on the first day for magical exhaustion.” then she walked away.

“Do you need any help?” Harry asked Draco who had been as unsuccessful as the rest of the class in casting the spell. The Malfoy heir scoffed at him,

“No, I don't _need_ help.” then after a moments pause and he attempted the spell again, he said, “Although, if you truly feel the need to help, then I am willing induldge you.” Harry laughed as he began to explain to the blond boy that he needed to will the match to become a needle. That he needed to want it and believe it completely that it would become a needle. He needed to force his will onto it and make it become what he wanted. About three-quarters of the way through the class, Draco managed to change it completely into a needle. However, after a few seconds it turned back. By the end of class though, Draco managed to hand in a perfect needle, looking very smug in doing so. None of the other students had managed to complete the transformation, though three of the Hufflepuffs as well as Zabini, Nott and two Slytherin girls had managed to make it shiny or pointy on the end.

Although McGonagall had told him to try to turn the match into other things, he hadn't. He had spent the entire class teaching Draco how to do it and the only magic that he had performed afterwards was to demonstrate it a few times to Draco. He hadn't yet talked to Marvolo about how much magic he should show to his teachers. Though he was sure that he could do it if he tried, he thought that performing more than was expected in class was something that he should talk to Marvolo about first and the man wasn't responding at the moment. Once again he wondered what the man did in his head when he wasn't talking to him...

After Transfiguration was lunch. Harry walked with Draco to the Slytherin table and ate there. He waved at Hermione and Neville at their respective tables and they waved back. After he had finished eating he got up and Draco followed after him. He walked over to the Ravenclaw table and beckoned Neville to come over there as well as he didn't seem to be talking to anyone and he didn't want to take Hermione away from her other friends.

“Hey Hermione.” he said,

“H-hey Harry, hey Hermione.” Neville said a moment later before Hermione could respond.

“Hey Neville,” Harry said,

“Hi Harry, hi Neville. _Malfoy_.” Hermione adressed the three of them. Then she turned back to the other Ravenclaw girls that she was talking to before they got there, “Mandy, Su, Lisa, these are my friends Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. And _Harry's_ friend Draco Malfoy.” Draco glared at her, she glared right back. “Harry, Neville, these are my friends Mandy Brocklehurst,” a strawberry-blond girl with neat bouncy curls smiled at them and said 'hi' cheerfully. Her magic was as bouncy as her curls were.

“Su Li,” an asian girl with shoulder-length pin-straight black hair and small blue-rimmed glasses nodded pointedly at them before reaching up to adjust her glasses which had slid down her nose due to the nod. Her magic seemed almost stunted, like it wanted to be fast and bouncy but was being held back by invisible reins. “And Lisa Turpin, she's my room-mate.”she had long wavy brown hair that was several shades lighter than Hermione's, almost blond in some places and her eyes were comlpetely hidden by long bangs. She peaked out at him through her long bangs showing him the biggest brown eyes that he had ever seen and silently waved at him before her eyes were once again hidden from view. Her magic seemed to spin and spiral this way and that like there was no order to it at all, only chaos. Yet somehow, it was a controlled chaos, despite the all over the place nature to it, there was nothing wrong with it, like it was supposed to be that way.

“She doesn't talk very much, but she's really nice.” Hermione said, though it seemed a little more directed at the other two girls than at Harry and Neville, and he could see why. Mandy and Su were looking at the shy girl with quite a bit of distaste. “Anyway, I don't want to cause a scene so I'm going for a walk with them. See you in class, bye.” then she linked each of her arms into one of Harry's (causing Harry to flinch slightly, though she didn't seem notice) and Neville's and began walking out of the Great Hall with an annoyed Draco following after them.

“Y-you didn't have to do that Hermione.” Neville said.

“Yes I did,” she relplied, “Didn't you see everyone looking at us? I mean, I know we're from different houses, but that was just ridiculous...”

“What?” Harry asked, he hadn't noticed anything at all.

“You really didn't notice, did you?” it was Draco who spoke this time, “There's a reason why people from other houses usually don't intermingle, especially Slytherin and Gryffindor. Of course everyone was shocked to see two Slytherins and a Gryffindor coming over to the Ravenclaw table to have a friendly little chat. Everyone was turning to stare at us, some of them were even glaring. All of this could easily be avoided if you just dropped these two as friends–”

“Hey, we were friends with Harry before you came along.” Hermione said, bringing them all to a halt and unlinking her arms from Harry's and Neville's to turn around and glare at Draco, “I personally don't understand why he's friends with _you_ Malfoy. You're clearly only friends with him because he's famous.” Draco's pale cheeks tinged pink as he said,

“No one asked your opinion _Granger_. You and the squib shouldn't even be allowed in this school.”

“Oh we shouldn't, should we? And Neville's not a squib he's just as magical as you and me–”

“You maybe, not me.”

“Draco, Hermione stop it _right now_.” Harry said, he had become very annoyed at their argument, especially since Draco was so clearly wrong. They both immediately turned to look at him. “Draco, I can tell you for a fact that Hermione and Neville are _very_ magically powerful–”

“You don't know that–”

“ _Yes_ I _do_. I'm not sure if you've heard of it before,” then he quieted his voice a bit to ensure that no one overheard him, “But I'm a magic sensitive.”

“You are?!” Draco and Neville exclaimed, clearly they had both heard of it before,

“What's a magic sensitive?” Hermione asked, Harry smiled at her and answered,

“A magic sensitive is a witch or wizard who can sense magic and living things much more than most witches and wizards. While most can feel someone else's magic if they're using it or feel the magic that they themselves use, a magic sensitive can feel the presense of most other living beings whether they have magic or not. As well as being able to feel the amount of power and characteristics of other magical being's magical cores, sometimes even feel emotions from them.”

“ _Really_?!” Hermione exclaimed, eyes wide, “You can feel all of that?!” 

“Yes,” Harry answered with a smile, “I can. Which is why, Draco, I can tell you that Hermione and Neville are actually very powerful. All three of you have above average magical power.”

“I-I do..?” Neville asked tentatively.

“Yes Neville, you do. I don't know why your magic decided not to show itself very much, but you have a lot of magical power.” Neville smiled widely at him.

“What characteristics does my magic have, Harry?” Hermione asked, eyes wide with wonder at the new information.

“Your magic has a very serious and swift kind of flow to it. That tells me that your mind moves very quickly, you tolerate no nonsense and you're very straight-forward.”

“You can tell all of that from my magic?” Harry nodded, “That's so amazing! All of that is completely true about me.”

“W-what about me, Harry?” he smiled, he was hoping that Neville would ask,

“Your magic Neville is big, strong and powerful, like an unmoveable force.” his eyes went wide at the description, “But at the same time it's very timid and it's kind of curled in on itself like it's trying to make itself smaller than it actually is.”

“R-really..?”

“Yeah. Your magic is amazing Neville.” then he turned to Draco, “ _Both_ of their magics are. They deserve to be in this school just as much as you Draco. And if anyone is almost a squib, it's your two bodyguards, and they're pure-bloods, aren't they? I can barely feel their magics they're so far below average.” Draco's cheeks turned pink again and Neville and Hermione laughed.

“What are my magic's charictaristics..?” Harry thought that it was just a way to change the subject, but he could see real curiosity in Draco's silver eyes.

“Your magic is quite strong and it always seems like it wants to fly, but is keeping itself contained for some reason.”

“Fly?” Draco asked, curiously.

“Yeah, not away from you or anything, but it just wants to fly.”

“Oh.” there was silence between the four of them for a while until Harry broke it by asking,

“So what do you two have after lunch?” Neville and Hermione both pulled out their schedules,

“I have Herbology with the Slytherins.” Hermione said with a smile towards Harry.

“I-I have Charms with the H-Hufflepuffs.” Neville said, “H-Hermione, what's that on the b-back of your schedule?” she flipped it over so they all could see it. It was a rather detailed little hand-drawn map of the school about the same size as the ones Harry and Draco had been given.

“Professor Flitwick told us that he wouldn't give us maps but he told us the name of the book that we could find one in; we weren't able to go to the library, but there's a bookshelf in the Ravenclaw common room and it had a copy of the book, but Professor Flitwick also told us that we weren't allowed to take the books out of the common room, so the other Ravenclaw first years and I all copied the map onto the backs of our schedules. We didn't know a spell to do it so we did it by hand, most of the other Ravenclaws only drew the paths they needed to get to their classes, but what if you got lost or something? So I drew most of the school, only labelling the classes that I needed though.”

“Do you ever even _breathe_?” Draco asked and Hermione blushed. Harry and Neville laughed, they had both thought the exact same thing in the past. 

“That's better than what McGonagall did.” Harry said, “The Slytherin first years got maps but the Gryffindors weren't even told about a book with a map.”

“Y-yeah... Th-that's why I was late to History of M-magic Hermione. I-I didn't know where it was. I ended up h-having to ask a p-painting where to go.” they all laughed a bit at that. While they were laughing the bell rang to tell them to start heading towards their next class.

“We should meet up somewhere after class.” Harry said.

“How about the library?” Hermione suggested

“That sounds good.” Harry said. Then he gave his map of Hogwarts to Neville. “I can just follow Draco.” he said, “Besides, you need this more than me.”

“Th-thanks Harry...”

“Don't even mention it.” he said, then he, Draco and Hermione began heading towards the exit so they could make their way to the greenhouses and Neville went the other way towards the Charms classroom. There weren't any chairs in the greenhouse, but it was once again clear where the division was between the two houses. Hermione insisted that they stand on the Ravenclaw side with her friends who were already there. Draco argued but eventually gave in on the condition that his bodyguards come there with them.

Su and Mandy eyed the large boys warily, but Hermione told them that they were harmless. Which only promted the large boys to crack their knuckles menacingly to prove just how  _not_ _harmless_ they were. The two girls paled and Harry could have sworn he heard a small giggle from Lisa, but he just assumed that it was his imagination; but it was strange that of the three Ravenclaws Lisa was the one who didn't look the least bit intimidated by Crabbe and Goyle. Now that they were all standing, it turned out that Lisa was actually even shorter than  _he_ was, and considering the fact that he was malnourished for the majority of his life,  _that_ was saying something.

The first half of the lesson was all about safety as they would be handling many different plants and some of them could be quite dangerous. Though, they wouldn't be anywhere near those any time soon. Most of the safety was actually about the safety of the plants and how to handle them with care so as not to accidentally break them. For the last half of the class, Professor Sprout just showed them around the greenhouse and introduced them to all of the different plants there. It was interesting, if a little bit boring, Draco agreed with him when he had commented about that and Hermione along with Su had given the both of them scathing looks. However, Harry had to admit that it  _was_ definitely more interesting than reading the same text books over and over again.

At the end of class Hermione wished Su, Mandy and Lisa a goodbye saying that she would see them at dinner before she lead Harry and Draco to the library. The moment they saw Neville, Hermione said 'hi' to him before heading off into the library's many bookcases to look for something to read. Harry followed her and Neville and Draco followed him. They all ended up picking out books that they thought were interesting before they walked over to a corner to start reading. They read and talked until dinner time. Then they all ate at their respective house tables before once again returning to the library. Though they were almost kicked out a couple times before and after dinner when Hermione and Draco started arguing over something one of them had read and decided to share. When it started getting close to curfew they all decided to head back to their respective common rooms.

When Hermione went back to Ravenclaw Tower the magical eagle knocker asked her,

“ _What comes at night without being fetched and by day are lost without being stolen?_ ” she thought about it for a minute before she answered,

“Dreams come at night without being fetched, and in the morning are lost because they're forgotten, therefore not stolen.” and she was let into the common room. There she found Su and Mandy and she stayed in the common room and talked with them for about half an hour until Mandy said that she was tired. Then the three of them all went up to their dormitories. They had been told the night before that although there wasn't very much room in the Ravenclaw Tower compared to some of the other houses, the nature of a Ravenclaw craves privacy and solitude. So, despite the lack of room the dormitories were seperated and they each only had to share with one other person of the same gender in their fairly small rooms, the beds only seperated by two small sidetables with each of the sides of the beds nearly touching the walls. All of the first year girls shared a bathroom, and all of the first year boys shared one as well.

When Hermione walked into her dorm room she saw that Lisa was already there, sitting on her bed reading a book, dressed in a pair of muggle pyjamas. She looked up when Hermione came in and smiled.

“Hi Hermione. Did you have fun?” Hermione smiled,

“Yeah, I did. We read some books in the library. Malfoy was being irritating though and almost got us kicked out.” Lisa giggled, the girl was honestly the most adorable, nicest, most innocent person that Hermione had ever met. Especailly when her bangs were out of her eyes, like they were now so she could read.

“That sounds nice.” she said before she turned back to her book. That was the most the girl would usually speak. Hermione hadn't known her for very long and really didn't know all that much about her to be honest, but after spending an entire night and day with someone, going from class to class, you tended to take note of their manerisms. And from what Hermione had seen of Lisa so far, she was a very shy person, didn't talk very often, kept mostly to herself and didn't seem to like long conversations very much. Because of this, the other girls in Hermione's year had taken a startlingly strong disliking to her almost immediately. Mandy and Su had even told her that she shouldn't hang out with her. When she asked them why, they said that she was annoying and weird and told her that being around her made them feel uncomfortable.

While Su was rather stern, collected and a bit judgmental, Mandy was one of the most friendly and cheerful people that Hermione had ever met. She just couldn't understand why both of them had taken such a strong disliking to Lisa. She might not talk a lot, but she was an altogether sweet and friendly person, at least from what she had seen of her so far, and Hermione just couldn't understand why anyone would dislike her so much so quickly. It seemed quite silly to her, really. So what if she didn't talk all that much? It felt very, very wrong to her that the rest of the Ravenclaws disliked her so much. It was similar to how the kids at her old school had treated her, and she wasn't going to let that happen to Lisa. She knew just how lonely and painful it could be... With that thought in mind, Hermione wished a goodnight to the short girl reading in the bed next to her, she replied the same and then Hermione tucked herself in for the night and soon fell asleep.

When Neville went up to Gryffindor Tower he struggled for a bit trying to remember the password. After about five minutes of just standing there it finally came back to him,

“C-Caput Draconis.” he said, then he walked into the Gryffindor common room. The moment that he walked in, Ron Weasley came up to him and warned him to stay away from 'slimy snakes' and 'slimy traitors' like Malfoy and Potter.

“H-Harry is my friend.” Neville said boldly, “A-and Malfoy isn't so b-bad once you get to kn-now him. I-I'm not just going to stop b-being Harry's friend j-just 'cause you d-don't want me to be. Being a S-Slytherin doesn't m-make him a bad p-person. S-so just leave me a-alone.” then Neville stormed up to the first year boy's dormitory, mad at the nerve of some people. House rivalries were just so stupid. So what if his best friends were a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw? No one in Gryffindor seemed to like him, so why shouldn't he be allowed to be friends with people from other houses? He pulled his bed curtains closed so he wouldn't have to look at his three other room-mates when they came in and tucked himself in for sleep. It was a while before he finally fell asleep and just before he did he heard Ron and Seamus talking about 'slimey Slytherin snakes' and how they were probably all going to join You-Know-Who when they were older. He sighed at just how stupid some people were when it came to prejudices.

When Harry and Draco went down to the Slytherin common room all coversations once again stopped and they were met with glares. Draco scoffed at them all before he said,

“As you were. We know we're amazing, but you needn't stop talking just for us.” Harry laughed as they walked through the room of offended Slytherins. When they got to their dorm room, Harry opened up the book he had checked out from the library and started reading again, this was much better than rereading his text books. After about an hour and a half of reading he finished the book and wished Draco a goodnight. The blond was already nearly asleep and grumbled a response.

_Goodnight Marvolo._ He thought to the man in his head. He sighed when he didn't get a response and tucked himself in for the night. He was nearly asleep when he heard,

_~Goodnight Harry.~_ from inside of his mind, he smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

Little did the sleeping boy know, the reason why Marvolo had neglected to talk to him for the majority of the day was because he was very deep in thought about many things. One of which was the odd sensations that both he and the boy had felt the previous day. He had been almost certain that the odd sensations had been caused by Quirrell as it was when he turned his head that they felt the sensations. However, they hadn't felt anything at all in the man's class. Then again, the man hadn't turned his head again and the boy had felt magic coming off of the turban... It was a mystery that Marvolo was determined to solve, afterall, what else is there to do when you're stuck in the body of a stupid, albiet powerful, eleven year old boy? Blocking out the boy's irritating night terrors Marvolo settled his own mind down to sleep. For it seems that even in this form he is still prone to the weaknesses of humanity.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, a nice little look at Marvolo's thoughts right there at the end. You'll be getting to see more of that soon, but tell me, what did you think?? And I was asked once before if Marvolo knows about Harry's nightmares, the answer, unfortunately is yes, not only that but he finds them irritating and he blocks them out! I also hope that you enjoyed the end of the Transfiguration class and the Herbology class. Also, new characters!! They're sort of OCs... the names are all canon, but everything else about them I came up with. And as you can see in the tags, Lisa Turpin is the only one of Hermione's 3 new friends who is listed, so I would like to know what your first perspectives of her are, as she's going to become important in the future.
> 
> Hermione has friends! Isn't that amazing? I wanted to really show how much being in Gryffindor hurt Hermione's social life in canon because she couldn't relate to any of the girls. But, in Ravenclaw, she has friends :) Also, I hope you enjoyed seeing Neville stand up for himself and Harry there and that you enjoyed seeing all of their nightly routines :) So, if you liked this chapter or this story in general, please hit that Kudos button if you haven't already and please leave a comment bellow :) I love comments SO MUCH!! It's always really, really awesome to hear feedback on something that I've worked so hard on :) I promise to reply to any and all comments that I get, no matter what they say, how short or long they are, if they're positive and praising, constructive criticism or down right negative and hurtful, I promise to reply to every single comment I get. Because someone has taken the time out of their day to write something, and I appreciate it SO MUCH! So thank you :)


	15. Potions and Pranksters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter is a very unusual boy. For one thing, he died when his uncle beat him one time and then came back to life. Through this, he met his dead mother and met Marvolo. Since then, Voldemort's soul piece has been teaching Harry magic. Harry went to Hogwarts and became friends with Draco, Hermione and Neville (the former two hate each other and are constantly glaring at each other and fighting for Harry's attention). Harry was sorted in Slytherin and Hermione into Ravenclaw. He got in trouble and lost points on the first day and now the other Slytherins (besides Draco of course) really don't like him. People are beginning to wonder if Harry will go dark, Ron Weasley hates him irrevocably and all Harry wants to do is learn as much magic as he can, make friends and make Marvolo proud of him. He's just finished his first day and his classes are going well, except for defense with Quirrel which is very boring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains allusions to child neglect, descriptions of children in pain and mentions of bringing dead bodies to life.  
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ ___

The rest of the week continued much like the first day. They went to their morning classes, ate lunch at their house tables, then Harry, Neville, Draco and Hermione would go for a walk around Hogwarts and talk about their morning classes. Then they would go to their afternoon class, then they would meet up after school and either read or do whatever homework they had to do before going to dinner and then returning to reading or homework for a couple hours before going to bed. They started out meeting up at the library but after Hermione and Draco's bickering had _actually_ gotten them thrown out of the library on Wednesday they all unanimously decided to find a new place to meet up.

Eventually they decided on an old empty classroom that clearly no one had used in years. Harry, Hermione and Neville had all worked together to tidy it up (Draco refused to help clean and originally ordered his body guards to do it for him, but Harry asked him to tell them to stop after they had collectively knocked over five things in the span of the first fifteen minutes). It now looked very nice and after Draco had asked his parents to send him some comfy chairs and couches (which they actually sent through the mail, shrunken inside of small packages until they were unwrapped) it was now very comfortable.

On Tuesday while they had still been in the library, the Weasley twins had come by the library to say 'hi' to Harry, who had then thanked them for getting rid of Ron and sticking up for him during the Sorting on Sunday. They replied nonchalantly and changed the subject to talk about the fact that everyone in the school was talking about the little group of firsties that were breaking the number one cardinal house rule.

“Never shalt a Slytherin have fun times with a Gryffindor.” they had said together before laughing and saying that they always thought the house rivalries were kind of stupid and that they only generally avoided Slytherins because they tended to hate their guts for being in Gryffindor. After all, the both of them were almost in Slytherin, though the hat had also considered putting George in Ravenclaw.

“Actually,” said Harry, “The Sorting Hat's name is Alistair.” the twins looked at each other in confusion before they turned back to Harry and Fred said,

“How do you know that, Harry?”

“I don't remember reading that in any books about Hogwarts.” said George.

“He told me.” Harry replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Harry, who is 'he'?” Fred asked as if he was talking to a child. Which, technically he was, though said child was not much younger than he was.

"Why, Alistair himself of course." Harry responded.  Then the twins had asked them if they'd had Defence with Quirrell yet. Harry, Neville and Draco had nodded while Hermione had shaken her head.

“He's a right piece of work, isn't he?” said Fred,

“Well at least he's better than that nutter we had first year, Professor Portskee.” said George.

“What did he do?” Harry asked.

“What didn't he do.” said Fred,

“He was an absolute nutter, that's what he was,” said George, “Went on and on about Death Eaters and You-Know-Who, and was constantly saying that them and all of their descendants deserved to be tortured for the rest of their lives. He actually called a bunch of the students who were related to supposed Death Eaters evil in the middle of class.”

“And during the middle of the last month of school,” said Fred, “He actually burst into the Great Hall with a knife in one hand and a sword in the other, looking completely deranged and said he was going to carve the truth out of the Death Eater kids.”

“Needless to say,” said George, “Mad old Portskee was sacked and soon after shipped to St. Mungo's.  They say that jobs cursed, you know?  No one can stay in it for more than a year.   _Some_ people think that's why Dumbledore hasn't given the job to Snape, even though he really wants it.  So we're all stuck with nut-jobs like good, old Professor Portskee.”

“But you know,” said Fred, “At least Portskee's classes were more educational than Professor Osfixie's last year. She was convinced that learning offensive spells would make us want to hurt people and go dark, so the class basically became a muggle phys-ed class where we learned how to run and jump away from spells. She said that as long as we can dodge the spells then we would never ever have to know how to hurt someone else. Ever.”

“I liked Osfixie actually,” George said, “Most wizards just stand completely still while duelling and end up getting hit when they could have just moved out of the way. Knowing how to dodge is a pretty decent skill.”

“I see your point,” said Fred, “But how useful is dodging really going to be in a duel if we don't even know any useful spells?”

“True...” said George.

"Not to mention what happened at the end of last year." Fred said.

"What happened?" the first years asked together.  George was the one who answered,

"During the last week of school in one of her first year classes, a Hufflepuff boy fell down right in front of her while doing his drills.  She ended up tripping over him and breaking her leg-"

"-which she then claimed the kid did on purpose." Fred cut George off, "She tried to have him expelled and when Dumbledore refused she went to the Ministry about it.  I heard from Lee that a friend of his' dad heard her saying that Hogwarts should be shut down because the innocent children were being taught to be murderous evil heathens.  The kid still wasn't expelled of course."

“Okay, you're right, she was a nutter too.  But Quirrell this year is complete rubbish. All he does is talk all class, doesn't cast a single spell and doesn't actually say anything useful.”

“And even if he does say something useful,” said Fred, “You wouldn't be able to hear it over his stutter.”

“He can't be _that_ bad...” said Hermione.

“Oh, he is.” Harry said, he completely agreed with Fred and George.

“We can't really blame him though,” said George, “After all, he isn't even a Defence teacher at all.”

“He's not?” all of the first years asked.

“Nope.” said Fred, “Last year he was the Muggle Studies teacher. Dumbledore must be really desperate by this point if he went and made _Quirrell_ the Defence teacher.”

“The year before last he wasn't even at the school,” said George, “He had apparently gone on a year long journey, and before that he was completely normal. No stutter at all.”

“We seriously doubt that though.” Fred said, “We never met him before his year long journey, but it's pretty hard to imagine that _Quirrell_ was ever _normal_. He's always been really weird and this year he's started wearing that ridiculous turban around.”

“You mean he didn't wear that before?” Hermione asked,

“Nope,” said George, “Wonder what he's hiding under there.”

“Maybe he's balding.” suggested Fred.

“Why did Dumbledore give him a cursed job?” Draco asked suddenly, “Is he _trying_ to get rid of him?”

“You may just have a point there little Malfoy.” said Fred. “Why _did_ Dumbledore give one of his staff members a cursed job?

“Maybe he's trying to convince him to retire, but he won't listen, so now he's going to make him.” suggested George.

“Maybe...” said Harry.

The twins had also come by before dinner on the Wednesday, just to say 'hi'. They weren't there when Madam Pince kicked them out of the library and they didn't know that they had changed their meeting place. They still went to the library every day, but they didn't stay there to read or do their homework anymore. Harry felt kind of bad for not letting them know about the place change, he really liked the Weasley twins. Even Draco had admitted that they weren't so bad... for Weasleys. The thing was, he just didn't know where to find them. The only place he knew they would be was at the Gryffindor table for meals, but Draco had warned him not to go near the Gryffindor table. Having Neville meet them in the middle at the Ravenclaw table was fine, but a Slytherin walking over to the Gryffindor table? You're practically asking to have one of your limbs hexed off. Same thing with a Gryffindor walking over to the Slytherin table. Besides there, he just didn't know where to find them.

On Friday, Harry, Draco and Neville had their first Potions class, it was a double period, and Hermione had her first Defence, also double. Hermione dismissed all of their claims that Quirrell was a terrible teacher and was rather excited for her class. Meanwhile, Draco was excited for Potions but Neville and Harry were rather dreading it. Neville remembered Snape from Sunday and was still terrified of the man, and Harry was certain that Snape hated him, though he didn't know why. Just to make sure he didn't get on the man's bad side Harry had decided to read over their Potions text book yet again to make sure he knew everything. He wouldn't put it past the man to try and make a fool out of him in the middle of class. Draco denied it and said that his Godfather would never do anything like that, but Harry felt that Draco was being a little too lenient on his Godfather.

Marvolo told him that he was quite interested to see how Severus taught, though Harry couldn't fathom why. When Harry, Draco and Neville walked into the Potions classroom it was once again clear where the dividing line between Gryffindor and Slytherin was. Neville once again sat on the Slytherin side with Harry and Draco, and Ron Weasley once again glared at their little group. Neville had told them that Ron had warned him to stay away from Harry, and Neville had apparently told him that Harry was his friend and he absolutely wouldn't. This had cause Harry to blush at the loyalty his friend showed him, which had in turn caused Neville to blush in embarrassment. Which had prompted Draco to point out that they looked like a pair of blushing Hufflepuff girls, which had only deepened the redness in their cheeks.

Professor Snape swept into the classroom in a flourish and like Professor Flitwick had on Tuesday, he began the class by taking the register and, like Flitwick he paused at Harry's name. But unlike Flitwick, Snape didn't squeal and fall over.

“Ah, yes,” he said softly, “Harry Potter. Our new _celebrity_.” Ron Weasley and Seamus Finnigan snickered behind their hands. When Snape had finished calling the names, he looked up at the class with piercing black eyes that looked like cold, black tunnels that continued on forever. He then gave them an eerie speech about the 'subtle science and exact art that is potion-making'.

“As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

Neville looked terrified, Draco looked fascinated and enthralled, inside of his mind, Harry could feel that Marvolo was terribly amused, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Harry himself felt a need to prove to Snape that he wasn't a dunderhead, like the man clearly expected him to be. He didn't understand why the man hated him, but he wasn't going to allow him to think that he was an idiot. Harry already knew how to prepare ingredients as the night before Marvolo had asked him to be the conduit through which he would make a potion. Marvolo had been very specific about how exactly to cut and grind the ingredients to create the best potion. It had taken much longer than it should have and Marvolo had scolded him many times for wasting ingredients, but he had eventually gotten the hang of it. Harry was certain that it wouldn't be his favourite subject, but it was interesting enough.

He had brewed the potion in the empty classroom that their little group used, he had stayed behind after all of the others had gone to bed. Draco had wanted to stay with him, but Harry had insisted that he needed his beauty sleep, what if he got dark bags under his eyes or wrinkles? This had caused the otherwise stoic blond to squeak and run away in search of the nearest mirror, before he had gone off to bed. He was fast asleep by the time Harry had snuck in hours later, he had nearly been caught by Filch, and Peeves the Poltergeist had given him a bit of a rough time, but he had eventually made it. Marvolo's potion was now sitting comfortably in his little bag. Harry was curious about what it was, but Marvolo refused to tell him. He didn't really mind though, Marvolo's business was his own business. Just because they shared a body and a soul didn't mean they had to tell each other everything if they didn't want to. They still had separate minds after all.

“Potter!” said Snape suddenly, interrupting his thought. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Harry smiled, he was prepared for this.

“You would get the Draught of Living Death Sir, an extremely powerful sleeping potion.” the dark man's lips curled up into a sneer, but his eyes showed the same look he had worn on Sunday at the feast, an odd mixture of hatred and curiosity, as if he couldn't decide which one he felt more.

“Hmm, very well Mr. Potter, let's try another one. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?” Harry almost laughed, this question was even easier than the last.

“In a goat's stomach.” he answered, and just because he wanted to show off and prove to Snape that he certainly wasn't a dunderhead, he elaborated, “It's a stone found in a goat's stomach that will save you from most poisons.” the class looked impressed and Snape looked particularly irritated as his sneer grew deeper.

“Very good, Mr. Potter,” he said in a tone that was clearly very reluctant to give such praise, “But tell me now, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?” Harry had to think about this one for a second. Wolfsbane was the main ingredient in the wolfsbane potion that enabled a werewolf to keep their human mind throughout the transformation (quite a recent invention), but he was sure that monkshood was the same thing... He looked up at Snape's face, the man was wearing a look that clearly showed that he believed he'd stumped Harry. He wanted to wipe that look right off of his sallow face.

“That's a trick question, Professor.” Harry said slowly, and when he saw his face fall, he smiled knowing that he was right. “Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same thing and you know that.” then just because the look on Snape's face was so funny, he cheekily added, “It's also called aconite.” Snape looked positively murderous now as he said,

“You are correct, Mr. Potter. But can you tell me the nature of the Valerian root and its properties and uses?” Harry was silent for a few minutes as he tried to remember everything he had read about Valerian. It wasn't as though there was a section in the book that said 'all about Valerian and its nature, properties and uses'. Between the books _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ and _Magical Drafts and Potions_ there was quite a lot of information on Valerian, it was just a matter of remembering it all.

“Well Sir,” he said, “In medieval times Valerian was thought of as an 'all-heal' and was known for its sedative and...” he struggled to remember the word, “Antispasmodic properties, it was used as a sleep and nerve remedy as well as a treatment for epilepsy. However, it's now known that Valerian is just a magical plant that effects the brain in a similar way to the non-magical plants marijuana and opium. Just like those plants, Valerian is also very addictive. That's why it's an ingredient in Treacle Fudge. It's also an ingredient in the Draught of Living Death, the Draught of Peace, the Forgetfulness Potion, the Dreamless Sleep Potion and almost all nerve-related potions.”

“That was... very thorough Mr. Potter.” Harry could tell that although the man was trying his hardest not to be, he was impressed. “One more question Mr. Potter, what would you get if I added ground scarab beetles and minced acromantula leg to a mixture of boiling rose oil, scorpion venom and tears of the Nile?” Harry tried to think of where in the textbooks he had read that, but he was drawing a blank. He had read about scarab beetles, they were used in the Wit-Sharpening potion and the Skele-Gro healing potion, he had also read about rose oil, it was often used as a base or a balancer in potions, however he hadn't once read about acromantula legs, scorpion venom or tears of the Nile. He had read about acromantula in _Fantastic_ _Beasts and Where to Find Them_ , but he hadn't read anything about using bits of them for potions ingredients. At least, he didn't _think_ he had... Inside of his mind Harry heard Marvolo's cold, cruel laughter.

 _~Ah, Severus always had a particularly twisted sense of humour. That potion isn't in your textbook, idiot boy. In fact, it isn't in any text book. The potion has been illegal for over a thousand years. The only book that you may be able to find it in nowadays would either be an illegal potions book or an ancient copy of_ Moste Potente Potions _before it was edited to remove the most interesting potions. He is obviously asking you a question which you have no hope of answering. I am curious to see how he would react if you_ did _manage to answer it... Say the following,~_

“Ground scarab beetles and minced acromantula leg added to a mixture of boiling rose oil, scorpion venom and tears of the Nile creates a potion that the Ancient Egyptian witches and wizards used to coat bandages in before they would wrap them around the dead. The resulting mummies would then be capable of coming to 'life' so to speak. Similar to creating inferi, but different as well. However, Professor, that potion has been illegal for over a thousand years; you know that.” Snape's eye brows shot straight up and his eyes opened wider than Harry had ever seen someone's eyes get. His mouth hung inelegantly open as he processed the fact that Harry Potter, an eleven year old, was able to answer that last question. It was meant to be a question that he could never answer so that he could tell the boy and the class that no matter how much you know, there are always things to be learned. The boy was not supposed to know that answer!

The entire class was stunned speechless and Neville and Draco were looking at him with more respect in their eyes than anyone had ever showed him. He blushed at all of the sudden attention. At least he had proved he wasn't a dunderhead...

“That is... correct, Mr. Potter. Though I am curious to know how you know about that potion in the first place as it isn't present in any books in the Hogwarts library nor any legal bookstore that you could hope to visit in Britain.” not wanting to answer the question, and as Marvolo was offering him no help, laughing manically as he was, Harry evaded the question.

“Sir, are you saying that you asked me a question that you thought was impossible to answer?” Harry didn't receive an answer, instead he felt something probe at his mind. Snape was using Legilimency on him?! He wasn't very worried of course as he currently had his confused, curious and attentive programs running, but it was the whole principle of the thing. Using Legilimency on a minor was incredibly illegal, not to mention the fact that Harry was the man's student. It was an abuse of power and punishable by up to five years in Azkaban.

However, the man didn't just stop at skimming his thoughts, he full out invaded his mind. Any other eleven year old wouldn't be able to tell what was happening at all, so Harry didn't react or look away as that would seem incredibly suspicious. Despite the fact that the only things that the man would be able to get at were things that he had either invented or deemed appropriate for others to see, he still felt incredibly violated. He almost audibly sighed when Snape happened across a memory of his cupboard. Once he had seen the memory, the man abruptly pulled out of his mind and Harry could see confusion and pity intermingled in his eyes.

Snape never actually responded to his question, immediately after he had pulled out of Harry's mind he had awarded fifteen points to Slytherin and then asked the class why they weren't copying everything down. Though he told them specifically to forget the last question and that if he found any of them attempting such a potion he would personally ensure that they were expelled. He had then set them to work, putting them all into pairs. Draco wanted to work with Harry, but he told the blond that it would be best if he worked with Neville. No one else in the room seemed like they would work with him and he could tell now that Neville would need the moral support in Snape's class.

Draco grumbled, but he was intelligent enough to see Harry's point. He ended up working with Millicent Bulstrode, a rather unsightly girl with a large, square build and jutting jaw. Pansy Parkinson worked with the Greengrass girl and Morag MacDougal, the girl who had been sorted right after Neville worked with the last Slytherin girl whose name escaped him at the moment. Nott and Zabini worked together, as did Crabbe and Goyle, but Harry could only imagine the disaster _that_ would turn out to be. There were only four Gryffindor girls so they paired themselves off, the girl who had a twin in Ravenclaw working with Lavender Brown, the first person to be sorted into Gryffindor. The other two girls whose names escaped him worked together, this left the remaining three Gryffindor boys to work in a group of three. They were instructed to make a simple potion to cure boils, looking at the instructions it certainly seemed _much_ easier than the potion he had made for Marvolo the night before.

Snape swept around the class, his long black cloak trailing behind him elegantly. He watched them as they crushed snake fangs and weighed dried nettles, criticizing everyone except for Draco and Harry. Neville was rather clumsy and careless and didn't seem very confident with what he was doing, but Harry made up for that and tried to teach Neville how to do it right and be a little more confident in himself about it. Everything seemed to be going well until Crabbe and Goyle's cauldron exploded, spraying the entire class with the disgusting concoction. Snape had wandlessly thrown up a barrier to protect himself, but nearly every single first year was drenched in the potion, causing them to collapse and groan while angry red boils covered the affected skin. Somehow Harry, Draco and Neville had not been hit by the potion, while Millicent Bulstrode who had been standing right next to Draco, had.

“Idiots!” Snape snarled, gradually clearing up the exploded potion, “I suppose you added the porcupine quills _after_ stirring not five but _six_ times?” the boys didn't answer, only whimpered as the boils began to envelope their bodies, they had been affected the worst. The ones who were effected the least were the Gryffindors on the far side of the room. Which made Harry wonder why he, Malfoy and Neville hadn't been affected...

 _~Idiot boy, can you not tell the work of your own magic?~_ Marvolo said to him as though he was speaking to a small child.

 _That was me?_ Harry asked,

 _~Of course it was you, what_ else _could it have been?~_ Harry smiled, if it really was him then he was very glad that he had done it. Snape had then conjured sixteen floating stretchers and instructed Harry, Neville and Draco to help him take the other students to the Hospital Wing as the three of them had remained mysteriously unharmed. All they had to do was guide the floating stretchers along. Snape attached ropes to them so that two of the stretchers could float behind each of them while they each pushed two in front of them. All of them were in charge of four different stretchers. Madam Pomfrey had been furious and irritated when sixteen first years were brought to the Hospital Wing covered in boils. She had managed to heal all sixteen of them within the first forty minutes, but still insisted that they all stay over-night. They had the afternoon off that day so there would be no problem with it.

The moment they had left the Hospital Wing, Snape had rounded on them, demanding to know why they hadn't been affected by the potion even though they were some of the closest students to the accident. Draco and Neville answered honestly that they didn't know what happened, and Harry lied along with them. Harry had talked to Marvolo about how much magic he should let on to the teachers and the man had told him to achieve well in classes and do everything that was instructed of him, but nothing beyond that. The general silence that followed his sorting from all of the teachers practically spoke for itself. While all of his teachers currently seemed rather fond of him, people's hearts and minds could be changed with a single doubtful word. So although the teachers all seemed fine with him being in Slytherin right now, there was a large possibility that if he shows above average potential that they may start wondering about him going dark. The students certainly seemed to be wondering about it already, though many of them doubted it.

After eating lunch with their houses, Harry, Draco, Neville and Hermione went straight to their meeting place to finish up whatever homework they had left from the week so that they would have the weekend free to do whatever they wanted. Hermione was helping Neville to understand something and Draco and Harry were both nearly finished their last bit of homework when the door to the classroom opened to reveal two very familiar identical red heads.

“So this is where you've been hiding.” one of them said with a smirk.

“You haven't been trying to avoid us, have you?” said the other with an identical smirk, but Harry could feel in their magics that they were actually quite upset about it.

“Of course not!” Harry, Hermione and Neville said together immediately, Neville with a slight stutter at the beginning. Harry hurriedly explained,

“We were kicked out of the library because of Hermione and Draco's arguing on Wednesday after dinner and we thought that it would be best if we didn't go back there, so we found a new place to meet up. I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you, but apparently it's not safe for a Slytherin to walk over to the Gryffindor table for a friendly chat and I don't know where you go the rest of the time.” The twins' smirks broadened into wide grins and their magics felt more contented now that they knew they weren't avoiding them.

“How did you find us?” Draco asked suspiciously.

“Trade secret.” one of them said,

“Can't be telling you little firsties everything.” said the other with a wicked grin. Draco narrowed his eyes, but Harry brushed it off and asked them to join them, after all, there were enough chairs and couches for four times the amount of people that were actually there. When a Malfoy did something, they always did it over the top. From that point on the Weasley twins came by their study group nearly everyday. Sometimes they stayed to have a chat or help with their homework or do their own, and sometimes they just came by to say 'hi' before heading out to meet up with their friend Lee Jordan and supposedly pull some pranks.

As the Weasley twins were around them so much, Harry began to realize that his first assessment of their magics wasn't entirely true. While it was still true that they were the most similar magics he had ever felt (even the other twins in the school didn't have such similar magic) they weren't exactly the same. There were slight differences between them that Harry began to pick up on more and more as they hung out with them. Not only that, but there were vast differences in their personalities as well that most people really didn't seem to nice, but as soon as Harry realized the differences in their magics he began to notice all of their other differences too.

Fred was more of the leader between the two of them, he cared about George in the same way that an older brother would. He was very protective and the more vindictive and sometimes crueller of the two. George on the other hand was kinder a lot more caring of other people. He was protective of his family and friends in the same way that Fred was protective of him. Although he was definitely his own person, it was clear that he looked up to Fred a bit as he was the more confident and action-based twin while George was more a man of sly words, he also had quite a fondness for books, though they never would have guessed that before. The two of them were like two halves of a whole, but that didn't make either of them any less their own people. After only a week of hanging out with them, Harry was able to tell them apart perfectly. Harry didn't know this, but the sad thing was, he was the first person to ever be able to do so, and the first person to have ever seen them as individual people.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'd like to apologize for how late this chapter is. I usually try to always post once a week, but this one got little delayed. The reason for this, isn't because it wasn't already written, it was, it was because due to my obsession with this story, I have neglected my other story HPFFX and my friend who loves that story has been practically nagging at me to write it, so I've been a bit preoccupied with that and haven't had time to post. But, that won't be happening again! So I'm terribly sorry for making you all wait so long for a new chapter, I promise this won't become a habit. Regardless, I really, really hope that you enjoyed this chapter and this story in general.
> 
> And now for some more, in case you were wondering, and even if you weren't: I came up with the names and stories for Professors Portskee and Osfixie. Portskee's name just came to me because I thought that it sounded interesting, but Osfixie's name is a play on words with the word 'Asphyxiation', because I saw her as someone who was a very suffocating and smothering person and teacher to be around. Also, as you could probably tell, those last two questions from Snape were not in the book or the movie. I came up with both of them, though Valerian root is an actual potions ingredient in Harry Potter as well as an actual plant. In real life, I don't believe that it has addictive properties, but why else would wizards put it in Treacle Fudge (which is actually true, it's an ingredient)? I also invented the potion that Snape mentions. I'm not sure whether or not it will become important later, but I thought that Snape might resort to drastic measures just to make Harry get a question wrong. Also, in case you didn't understand, Fred and George used the Marauder's map to find the firsties.
> 
> Anyway, I really hope that you enjoyed this chapter and this story in general :) If you did, then please leave a comment or a kudos if you haven't yet, and I hope you'll be back in a week to read the next chapter :) in the next chapter will be the flying lessons and Harry's scheduled meeting with Snape!


	16. Exploding Expectations and Bothersome Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter is a very unusual boy. For one thing, he died when his uncle beat him one time and then came back to life. Through this, he met his dead mother and met Marvolo. Since then, Voldemort's soul piece has been teaching Harry magic. Harry went to Hogwarts and became friends with Draco, Hermione and Neville (the former two hate each other and are constantly glaring at each other and fighting for Harry's attention). The other Slytherins don't like Harry and generally avoid him. People are beginning to wonder if Harry will go dark, Ron Weasley hates him irrevocably and all Harry wants to do is learn as much magic as he can, make friends and make Marvolo proud of him. Harry and his new friends started hanging out in an empty classroom after Draco and Hermione got them kicked out of the library. The Weasley twins found them there and now they occasionally hang out with them. Snape invaded Harry's mind after Marvolo told him an answer that he shouldn't have known for his own amusement and now he knows about the cupboard. In this chapter is Harry's meeting with Snape, what will happen??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains descriptions of child abuse, descriptions of child neglect, descriptions of child molestation, descriptions of child rape, descriptions of domestic abusive/abusive relationship, descriptions of planned murder, descriptions of physical violence, mental trauma, Stalkhome syndrome, arranged marriages, forced arranged marriages, incarceration, abused children, altogether terrible relationships and family situations, a possible near-death experience, and prejudice.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~_

Severus Snape sighed as he ran his long, pale fingers through his greasy, lanky hair. The stress was getting to him, like it did every year as he neared the end of the first meetings with the new Slytherin first years. He had started these meetings shortly after he began working at Hogwarts; he may not seem like it, but Severus truly had a soft spot for children in his otherwise sealed off heart. Severus had never been a particularly kindhearted person. He was a Slytherin, not some precious Hufflepuff or noble Gryffindor. He did things for himself, which is why it often confused him that he did this for his students in the first place. He had many theories about it though. Whether any of them were truly right, he wasn't sure. But he needed to give himself  _some_ explanation as to why his otherwise uncaring, dark facade was plagued with caring for unfortunate children.

He theorized that perhaps it was due to his own unfortunate upbringing. Perhaps his subconscious saw the children as an extension of himself. He sometimes wished that Slughorn had done this for him; simply so that he could have had someone to turn to in his darkest hours. Sixth year had been the very worst for him. Lily had ended their friendship the year before, his mother had committed suicide a little less than a week before he returned home from the summer after fifth year. His father of course had blamed it on the 'devil inside her' and had then taken his anger and grief out on him. After of course he had made him dispose of her body in the nearest river... Severus shook the memories away. His father was dead now, he could never hurt him again. It was one of the first things that he was instructed to do when he became a Death Eater. To prove that he had no ties to his muggle family, at the age of 17 he had been told to kill his father in the most creative way he could imagine. And he had certainly been  _very_  creative... But Severus shook that memory away as well.

Perhaps the reason why he cared for the children was because Lily's kindhearted personality had rubbed off on him. She was the kindest, sweetest, most gentle person Severus had ever met. She had been like a shining light in the life of everyone she was around. Simply being around her would make a person feel so much better. Perhaps his long friendship with her had rubbed some of that kindness onto him. Or perhaps he did this as a way to attempt to apologize to her for being responsible for her death. Perhaps, in his subconscious, he thought that helping children, as she would have done, as she had done with him, was a way to attempt to repay her for all she had done for him. And to apologize for all he had ever done to her and to countless others. Perhaps this was his way of punishing himself. Whatever the reason, this is what he did. Nearly every day of every school year. He would talk to the children.

For one reason or another Slytherin house contained more children who were victims of abuse than any other. Whether it was the abuse that made them Slytherin, having Slytherins for parents most of the time, having purebloods for parents most of the time, or if it was just by chance, at least a quarter of the Slytherins every year had suffered abuse of some kind. It usually wasn't anything too serious of course, but abuse was abuse and that hurt the children. However, the nature of a Slytherin is to be a private person and not share faults with anyone, lest they be turned against you. This was why when the meetings were commenced, especially among the first years, Severus would lace his room with charms and spells to induce trust and compel the children to tell him their troubles. It wasn't illegal by any means, a little questionable maybe but it was for a good reason.

Severus had many times (though he would never admit it to anyone) been a shoulder to cry on for the children. He wished that he could help the children more than just being someone to talk to, but many of the Slytherins came from upstanding families and the word of an eleven year old would never hold out against them. That is, if they even wanted to come forward about it at all...

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were not the brightest pair of boys, nor were they the most powerful. Their families have been bonded into servitude to the Malfoy family for generations and from a very young age they have been told that they were less than them, that they are not good enough. That they are weak and stupid and will never achieve anything on their own, so they need the support of the Malfoy family. Perhaps the boys could be more if they attempted to be, but they have simply accepted their lot in life and the only ambition they have is to abuse the Malfoy influence to its fullest, never once even considering to find their own talents. But at least they have each other.

Some aren't so lucky to have someone there for them. Millicent Bulstrode is the shame of her family because of her looks and lack of elegance and grace. Her mother expects her to be a perfect Pureblood wife one day, but her looks will never find her a decent suitor. Because of this, her mother abuses her verbally, emotionally and sometimes even physically. Calling her ugly, fat, hitting her when she cries or acts as a Pureblood lady shouldn't. Her father does nothing to prevent this because he too is ashamed of his daughter.

Pansy Parkinson is the perfect Pureblood daughter and future wife. The girl's entire life ambition is to get married to some rich and influential Pureblood man and then spend his money to her heart's content. To have such low ambitions at the young age of eleven just wasn't healthy, though she is much better off than many of her classmates.

Daphne Greengrass, unlike her best friend Pansy is absolutely terrified of having an arranged marriage. While her parents may seem like the perfect Pureblood couple to the public, in reality her father is abusive to her mother because she has yet to provide him with a male heir (they only have two daughters, Daphne and her younger sister Astoria) and because she doesn't want to be sexual with him. While her mother is depressed because of this and has attempted suicide many times, which only makes her husband angrier. Daphne is terrified for both herself and her younger sister, believing that they will both end up in such loveless, abusive marriages as well.

Blaise Zabini's mother is known as the 'Black Widow' because she has been married seven times and each time her husband has mysteriously died. Blaise believes that his mother kills these men to get their inheritances, but this also means that she killed Blaise's father. As well as the few men that he 'foolishly began to see as a father figure'; he hates his mother for it, and yet she is the only person in the world who truly cares for him. This has caused him to be distrusting of everyone, especially adults. One of his mother's husbands attempted to touch him in a sexual manner, he managed to escape him before anything serious happened and told his mother; the man died in a rather slow and painful 'accident' shortly afterwards. He has been struggling with this greatly as he is beginning to believe that his sexual orientation is towards the more masculine gender.

The wizarding world has always viewed being bent or flexible in the same way as being straight. Unlike with muggles, two witches or wizards can reproduce through the use of a potion, though it tends to cause more complications than between a male and a female, it  _is_  possible. The only stigma on it in the wizarding world comes from the muggleborns who bring their prejudices with them. The reason why Blaise has struggled with this is because of the incident with his mother's ex-husband, he feels like accepting that he is in fact bent is the same as saying that he wanted what his mother's husband tried to do to him. Severus tried to reassure him that isn't at all true, but Blaise wouldn't listen, saying that it had felt  _good_  and a part of him had actually wanted him to do it. He hates himself for enjoying the man's touches and finding other men to be attractive and as he trusts no one, he has no one he can confide in.

Theodore Nott's father is locked up in Azkaban for being a Death Eater. He had to grow up without him and he hates the man for it. Yet at the same time he can't completely hate him because he knows that he probably would have done the same. And he hates that he can't hate his father for never being there for him and hates himself for being so much like him.

Sally Smith is terrified of going back home after being sorted into Slytherin. She knows that it's the house where she belongs, but her family has been predominantly Hufflepuff. Her family even claims to be descendants of Helga Hufflepuff herself. They value loyalty above all else and they will most likely see her sorting as a betrayal.

Morag MacDougal has been repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted by her own father since a very young age. Her mother is completely unaware of it and the girl doesn't believe she would care even if she knew. Her parents have an arranged marriage and have never loved each other, but Morag's father claims to have fallen in love with Morag. He says that she is the only good thing that has come out of his loveless marriage. Severus was absolutely appalled by this, but Morag says that he's still her father and she wants to make him happy and proud of her. She tries to tell him not to sometimes, hoping that she could just be a normal girl, but he never stops and always manages to lure her back to him with his kind words and gentle touches. He's never rough and he never hurts her, and 'it's not  _his_  fault that every time he has sex with her she feels dirty and used and violated, she just needs to try harder to not feel like that'. Severus tried to tell her that what her father was doing was very,  _very_  wrong. To which the little girl replied,

“I-I know that... but... he's still my Daddy. And I love him... I want him to be happy...” as Severus held the little girl in his arms he wished more than anything that he could help her. But even if he alerted the authorities, where would she go? There are no magical orphanages and sending a magical child into muggle orphanages or the muggle foster-care system was risking even more abuse, possibly even worse than what she was currently going through. He hated feeling like this, so very helpless and powerless to truly help these children. They needed more than just a shoulder to cry on... What was the point of these interviews if he could do nothing to actually  _help_  the children?!? Needles to say, after letting little Ms. Dougal go back to her dormitory that night, he had drank an entire bottle of scotch.

The day before he had interviewed his own Godson, Draco Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy was many things; an incredibly skilled business man and politician, an excellent Death Eater due to his intimidating presence, the epitome of Pureblood supremacy and customs, an excellent drinking partner, but one thing that Lucius was not, was a good father. It wasn't entirely his fault though, his father had been a very cruel man to him, leaving him very closed off and cold, unable to truly feel never mind share his own emotions. Draco's mother is much the same. Though Narcissa does truly care for Draco she was never very good at showing it. Cygnus and Druella Black had never been the best parents and each of their daughters had reacted to it differently. Bellatrix had inherited the Black madness and had gone relatively insane. Whether or not part of this was due to her parents, can be debated. Andromeda completely rebelled against everything her parents stood for, going as far as to marry a muggle-born Hufflepuff.

Meanwhile Narcissa became very closed off and relatively cold. Apparently she had once been a very happy and exuberant child. However, her parents did not approve of this behaviour, so she chose to shut herself down in an effort to appease her parents. Once she had reached Hogwarts age, she was the perfect Pureblood daughter and the only Black sister deemed suitable enough for the Malfoys' only son, despite being much younger than him and the youngest of her sisters. Lucius had known her as she was when she was a child however, and had told Severus one late night out drinking. The two of them have collectively spoiled Draco to make up for their rather lacking emotional skills and to attempt to give him a better childhood than they had. However, it has still left Draco feeling as though his parents don't care all that much for him and having a desperate need to appease them and seek their approval. Especially from his father.

The last of the first years that Severus had to interview was Harry Potter. He had saved the famous boy for last because he didn't believe that the spoiled  _Harry Potter_  would even need any help at all, but after delving into his mind on Friday while attempting to find the source of his illegal information... Severus wasn't so sure. He had seen... well, he wasn't entirely sure what he had seen. He hadn't found what he had been looking for, but there was... a cupboard, a little cupboard underneath a flight of stairs, and there was a mattress in it. A mattress! Not even a child could live inside of such a small place. He must have seen wrong, must have misinterpreted the memory. But there was a nagging in his mind telling him that he hadn't.

He clenched his teeth and awaited Potter, all of the charms and spells in place in the room. They wouldn't cause him to reveal anything he didn't want to already. That was the thing about children who have been abused, they may put up a cold or brave front, they may hide everything that has happened to them for fear of appearing weak or being pitied. But deep down,  _all_  of them wanted to tell someone about what they had been through. They wanted to trust someone, they wanted someone to understand. Severus knows this from experience, he realized now that it was a large factor in why he had fallen so hard for Lily Evans so very young. She was the one person he had trusted with knowledge of his home-life. She never pitied him or thought he was weak, never looked down on him or hated him. Until of course he made the worst mistake of his life in a moment of anger and humiliation...

Severus pushed the memory away. He didn't want to think about that, not now, not ever. He especially didn't want to think about the fact the the boy now knocking on his door was her son with another man. And not just any other man, James bloody  _Potter_  . It would be  _so_   _much_ easier to just hate the boy. But if his suspicions were true... He pushed those thoughts away as well as he drawled,

“Come in.” and looked into the boy's green eyes, that were so much like his mother's. Hidden in James' face were Lily Evans' beautiful green eyes that were always able to melt his cold heart. The son of his greatest enemy now possessed his only weakness... Those almond-shaped, emerald-green eyes...

As Harry walked into the room he felt a wave of calm wash over him. He felt the magic along with it.

 _Marvolo,_  he thought,  _What is this?_

 _~I am not quite sure... I will tell you when I am.~_ Harry nodded and walked into Snape's office, sitting in the chair that the man motioned to. He felt an inexplicable amount of trust towards the man before him, which was strange because before he had entered this room he hadn't trusted him at all. In fact, he distrusted him immensely because the man had attempted to ridicule him and invaded his mind on Friday. He had been absolutely dreading this meeting the entire day. Draco had told him that it would be fine, that his Godfather really wasn't all that bad, but that hadn't helped in the least. But now, it was like none of that had ever happened, he felt like he could tell the man absolutely anything.

“Hello, Mr. Potter,” Snape said as Harry struggled to understand the unusual change in his feelings, “I would like to tell you first and foremost that anything you say in this room will not leave this room unless you have given your express permission for it to do so. So mote it be.” his Professor's last words were laced with magic and the moment that he said it a gold band seemed to curl around him before disappearing in a shimmer. Harry could only describe the feeling of it as binding.

“Okay.” Harry replied.

“That, Potter was a magical oath. If I do not do as I have said then I could lose my magic, die or be permanently a vegetable. Of course a num–” Severus stopped himself. Now was not the time to insult him. He would get his answers first. He must be Slytherin about this. “Never mind... Now, let's start by discussing your family. Who is it that you live with?”

“My aunt, uncle and cousin.” Harry answered immediately, “They're muggles.” he felt almost compelled to tell him. He felt like he could trust the man with anything.

At Potter's words Snape's eyes widened. Surely the boy couldn't mean Petunia? She hated magic because she didn't have it. She had hated Lily and himself and called them freaks for what they could do. Surely Albus wouldn't have placed the boy with her!

“Do they treat you well?” he asked and before Harry could stop himself, he shook his head.

_Marvolo, why did I just do that?_

_~...I believe that there may be spells on this room that compel you to trust him and tell him things. Ingenious really, Slytherin has a tendency to contain the most abused children of all of the four houses. However, a Slytherin isn't just going to admit to that. You could fight the spells if you wanted to, but I'm assuming that most children wouldn't want to.~_

_So what should I do?_ Harry asked.

 _~You will have to tell him_ something  _or he'll become suspicious. Tell him about the memories that he is capable of viewing, maybe mention the abuse and that the muggles are afraid of your magic and that the abuse has stopped. But under_ no  _circumstance are you to tell him about your death, me or your threatening of your relatives.~_

 _Okay._  Harry thought before he turned back to Snape who had just asked him  _how_  they treat him, if it isn't well.

“They hate me.” he said bluntly, “They hate magic, so they hate me.” it felt like a relief to tell Snape about the Dursleys, but he wasn't sure if that was because of the spells or if he truly felt that way. “They made me do all of the chores around the house every day and if I didn't do them to their incredibly high standards, then my uncle would beat me. And until just recently I slept in the cupboard under the stairs.”

“What happened just recently,” Snape asked in a strained voice. Remembering what Marvolo had said, Harry twisted the truth a bit.

“I found out about my magic and now they're treating me better because they're scared of it. They still hate me, but now they just ignore me whenever I'm around.” it  _was_  the truth, just leaving part out.

Severus was speechless. How could Albus have let this happen?! The boy was supposed to be  _safe_!! Oh, what would Lily think if she knew of this..?

“Have you told the Headmaster about this?” he asked,

“No, I haven't,” the boy answered, “And I don't really want to. They treat me better now anyway. Besides, I'm only going to have to see them two months out of the year.” Severus nodded, not at all happy about this, but it was to be expected. That was basically what all of the abused children said when he inquired about telling someone. Why did it have to be  _Potter_  though? He knew that the boy wasn't lying to get attention. He couldn't in this room, not really; and even if he had somehow found a way, Severus had looked into his mind and seen the proof for himself. It would have been so very much easier to just hate the boy. Hate him for who he was and what he represented, that he was James' spawn. Living proof that James Potter and Lily Evans had been intimate... The thought of it made his insides coil. Why couldn't he just continue to believe that the boy was simply a clone of James..? Why did he have to be completely different from his father? Because no matter how much he tried to deny it, the boy was nothing like his father at all. He was much more like... Lily.

Accepting of people in other houses, intelligent, confident, competitive, talented. Why couldn't he just hate the boy that represented everything that he had lost when he had said that  _blasted word,_ in  _peace_?! How much did the gods truly hate him?!? Severus was internally struggling with everything which he had ever thought that he knew. Struggling to come to terms with this new information. He tried to deny it, tried to continue to hate the boy who sat before him. But then he would look into his eyes again and his mind would be wiped of such doubt. His breath would be taken away and everything that he ever thought that he knew would crumble out from beneath him. Those eyes showed none of James' cockiness or cruelty.

They were eyes that hid past horrors that no child should ever have to see, just like the rest of his snakes. He could see the truth because he recognized it in his own onyx orbs in every mirror... He had just been denying it. Just wanting to see that he was James' clone. Why couldn't the boy just be the stereotypical cocky, impulsive Gryffindor hero that everyone had expected him to be?!?! Why did he have to come into Severus' life, destroy everything that he thought he knew about him and about the world in general and then just sit there in that chair, the picture of innocence?? Didn't that boy know what he was doing to him?! How much he was destroying him?! How much his very existence caused him pain?! Those eyes... those emerald green eyes... He always knew that they would be his undoing. But none of these emotions or thoughts showed on the outside. Hidden behind his mental shields, Severus seemed completely unattached and stoic; completely unaware that the blasted boy before him could feel all of his emotions through his magic.

“How has you life been since you have arrived at Hogwarts?” he drawled calmly despite the turmoil inside. Harry could feel that turmoil in his magic, and it confused and disturbed him. What could make his teacher so very distressed?? Was it him? Could he possibly be causing him to feel all of that? And if that was true, then... why..? Harry found that he felt quite bad for his Professor. He wanted to help him somehow, to not feel such horrible things. But Harry decided to push it aside and tried to ignore the man's magic that was practically torturous to be around, and answered his question. This topic was much more favourable and comfortable than the last.

He told the man all about his friends and his classes which he was doing very well in. He left out many things though, like the fact that he had just recently managed to change the whole colour scheme of his Slytherin dorm room and back again while Draco had been in the library. Like the fact that slowing the momentum of things was becoming practically instinct when he knocked something over. Like the fact that when he snapped his fingers to create friction he was becoming capable of creating bigger and bigger balls of flame that would sit in the palm of his hand with wandless magic. Marvolo was beginning to encourage him to try and control the flame, he has since been rather unsuccessful, but he was slowly getting better.

However, he  _did_  tell Snape about Ronald Weasley and how insufferable and annoying he was. When he passed him in the halls he would make rude remarks about him and his friends, saying that they were all evil and that Neville was a traitor, Hermione was an annoying know-it-all and Draco a spoiled, greedy git. His older brothers took care of him sometimes, but they couldn't stop him from talking. And Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were always with him as well. Seamus would also shout rude remarks at them, and while Dean never said anything, he never stopped them either. The interview ended after about 30 minutes of Harry telling Snape about his life at Hogwarts, well, part of it. Severus couldn't help but compare the boy's relationship to Ronald Weasley, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas to his own with James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin respectively. Yet another piece of his mind and resolve to hate the boy seemed to shatter, and quite painfully at that. When the meeting had ended, Harry got up and walked towards the door, but before he walked through it, he turned to the bitter man and said,

“You know sir, you really aren't so bad. I don't know why you hate me, I don't  _think_  I've done anything to deserve it, but I hope that you can get over it. You're definitely a much better Head of House than McGonagall. You actually care about the students enough to hold meetings, McGonagall didn't even tell them where they could find a map of the school and didn't even show up in the common room at all. I can really see why Draco thinks so highly of you.” then he left without waiting for a response. Even when he was away from the charms and spells of the room, Harry found that he still felt that way. He was so glad that he had chosen Slytherin instead of Gryffindor...

Meanwhile, Severus felt the last of his resolve to hate the boy utterly explode. And he was left alone in the room, struggling to grasp this new reality that had been shoved in his face. He sighed and rubbed his temples as he summoned a large brandy from his private stock. Maybe when he woke up the next day everything would make sense again.

*

On the second Thursday of the year, the Gryffindors and the Slytherins had their first flying lesson at 3:30 pm. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had already had theirs on Tuesday and Hermione had said that while it was fun, she would much rather keep her feet firmly on the ground, thank you very much. That morning, Neville had received a rememberall from his Gran. Harry was still suspicious of the woman, but he supposed that maybe she wasn't so bad if she sent Neville gifts, useful gifts at that. Harry, Draco and Neville were the first ones to arrive due to Draco's excitement to fly on a broomstick again. Harry found it funny, especially considering the nature of his magic.

The other Slytherins arrived soon afterwards, but the other Gryffindors nearly arrived late. There were about twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground, they didn't look nearly as nice as the Nimbus 2000 back in Diagon Alley had. Their handles were dull and chipped and the bristles stuck out in every which way. Fred and George had complained a couple times about the state of the school brooms, saying that they would start to vibrate if you flew too high or always flew slightly to the left. They clearly needed to be replaced.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, the grey-haired, bird looking woman who he could see now had rather odd yellow eyes like a hawk, arrived soon after the Gryffindors. She instructed them all to stand beside a broomstick. Then she told them to stick their right hand over their broom and say 'Up'. Harry's broom jumped right into his hand at once and Draco's jumped up the second time he called. The two boys smiled at each other, but Neville's broom hadn't moved at all. Harry told Neville that maybe brooms were like horses and can tell when you're afraid, and that maybe if he spoke more confidently it would listen to him. Neville tried, but it didn't work. He eventually gave up and just picked up the broom as the teacher began to show them how to mount it without sliding off the end. Apparently Draco had been doing it 'wrong' for years; Harry didn't really see how there could be a wrong way as long as you didn't slide off the broom.

“Now, when I blow my whistle,” said Madam Hooch, “You kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two –” But Neville, who was acting very nervous and jumpy, pushed hard off the ground before the whistle even touched Hooch's lips. “Come back, boy!” she shouted at him as Neville kept rising higher and higher.

Harry looked around and saw that all anyone was doing was whispering and pointing, not even attempting to help at all. Not even the teacher who clearly felt that he should be able to get down by himself if she just yelled at him. Harry didn't care if he got in trouble, he didn't care that he had never ridden a broom before, that was his friend up there and he was scared and he was probably going to end up hurt if someone didn't do something. Without even thinking about it, Harry kicked off from the ground hard and rose up to meet Neville as quickly as he could. Below him he could hear Hooch yelling at him to come back down as well, but he paid her no notice. In his opinion, she was a terrible teacher and not worth listening to.

The broom did exactly what he wanted it to do, it was practically instinct. When Harry finally rose up to Neville's level he said in the calmest voice that he could manage,

“It's alright Neville, just climb onto my broom and I'll bring you back down. Neville gave him a terrified look as he continued to cling to his rising broomstick. They were now more than twenty feet off the ground. “It's alright, Neville.” Harry repeated, now trying to use his magic to calm him as well, “Just grab my hand.” he held his hand out, but as Neville slowly took one of his hands off of his broom to grab it, he looked down. Seeing how high up they were, he gasped and lost his balance, slipping off of his broom.

Harry wasn't going to let that happen. His magic slowed Neville's momentum almost to a stop and, faster than the eye could see, he reached out and grabbed Neville's semi-outstretched hand and then whipped his broom around to catch him before he released his magic and Neville landed lightly on his broom. Once on the broom Neville clung tightly to Harry as he slowly lowered them back down by leaning forward slightly.

When Harry landed on the ground, Neville promptly dived off the broom onto the ground, his face looking rather contented. Harry laughed and Draco smirked at the both of them.

“Just  _what_  do you think you were doing young man??” Anger flared inside of him as he turned to face the bird-looking woman, eyes narrowed in contempt as he spat,

“Madam Hooch, I think that I was doing  _your_ job.”

“ _Excuse_  me?!” she demanded.

“I said that I was doing, what was supposed to be, your job. One of your students, who had clearly never ridden a broom before was in trouble and your reaction was to yell at him to get down?! How did you expect him to do that?? If he could have gotten down by himself, then he would have! What kind of a teacher are you that you can't even keep your students safe when they're doing something as dangerous as riding a broom??? Hooch was now extremely red in the face, but instead of saying anything of relevance or explaining herself, she simply said,

“Twenty points from Slytherin, Mr. Potter. And you will be serving detention tomorrow night.”

“For what?!” Harry demanded.

“For lipping off to a teacher and for disobeying instructions, leading to the destruction of a school broomstick. Which landed in the Whomping Willow, for your information, Mr. Potter.”

“That's completely unreasonable!” Harry said, only for Hooch to respond,

“That is enough from you, Mr. Potter. You Slytherins are all the same, absolutely  _no respect_  for authority! Any more lip and I shall deduct even more points and you will be serving detention for a week!” both the Slytherins and, surprisingly, the Gryffindors bristled at the woman's words. Harry bit back the venom in his mouth that he wanted to unleash on the unbearable bird-woman, but he kept it to himself. He didn't want to lose Slytherin any more points or get more detentions. He was still seething with anger though at the injustice of it all. Had he been in Gryffindor, he probably would have been rewarded for playing the hero, but because he was in Slytherin, it was seen as disrespecting authority.

“Now, we will be getting back to the lesson.” Hooch said once her face had gone down to a light shade of pink, “What are you all doing? Go back to your broomsticks! Mr. Longbottom is perfectly alright–”

“Only because of Harry!” one of the Gryffindor girls said furiously, surprising Harry quite a bit. A Gryffindor standing up for a Slytherin?

“Five points from Gryffindor Ms. Dunbar!” Hooch barked, “And I don't want to hear another word about Harry Potter or this incident again! Is that understood?!”

“Yes, Madam Hooch.” the class replied in a monotone. They all looked at Harry and gave him pitying looks, but some of them were mixed with curiosity, especially the Gryffindors, like they were suddenly seeing him in a new light. Except for Ron and Seamus who were smirking at him triumphantly.

“T-thanks Harry...” Neville said embarrassedly, “And s-sorry I m-made you lose p-points and get d-detention...”

“You should be.” Draco spat, but Harry glared at him and said to Neville,

“I don't blame you, I blame the stupid bird-woman and the prejudice against Slytherins.”

The next day during class, Draco went to Professor Snape, dragging Harry along with him, and told him what happened.

“You shouldn't act so impulsively Mr. Potter.” Snape said, “You are in Slytherin house, not Gryffindor. You should learn to hold your tongue.”

“But, Sir–” Harry protested, thinking that Snape was just picking on him again, he still didn't know why he hated him... He wouldn't even meet his eyes.

“Silence.” Snape interrupted, still not looking into his eyes. “While I do not agree with this, I cannot undermine another teacher's authority, especially since you acted so disrespectfully afterwards. You will go to the detention and you had better work hard to get those points back.”

“Yes, Sir.” Harry said glumly as he and Draco went back to their seats. Despite his disappointment though, Harry couldn't help but think that Snape had acted rather civil compared to how he had treated him before. He still didn't seem to like him, but he didn't seem to outright hate him anymore either. Harry could only hope that Snape might start to see him as just any other student. He wanted to do well in this class to please Marvolo after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware that in the last chapter I said that this one would not be late. Unfortunately however, I have had an unfortunate series of technical difficulties as well as a crazy amount of homework, so this chapter has ultimately ended up quite late. Not to mention the fact that I absolutely hate posting late chapters, so not wanting to post a late chapter lead me to being even later in posting it... I will attempt to update again within a week, and hopefully my computer will let me this time around. I'm very, very sorry for the lateness and I dearly hope that you enjoyed this chapter :) So, Harry had his meeting with Snape and our resident dungeon bat has just had a rather rude realization. As the title suggests, his expectations exploded and now he has to face the reality that James' son is not only not a total jerk, but was abused when Snape had vowed to protect him for Lily. I hope that you don't think that Snape's feelings changed too fast. If it's any consolation he still doesn't like him. As it showed at the end of the chapter there, he's not suddenly being super nice to him, and he doesn't want to look into his eyes. This is due to the guilt he feels and the realization he has just made. Also due to his guilt and his promise to Lily (as it was in canon) he will help Harry if he needs it, but not for his sake. For Lily's. 
> 
> As for the children's pasts, I made them up for the most part. Although, it is canon that Blaise Zabini's mother is known as the 'Black Widow' and that she had husbands who all mysteriously died. It's also canon that Smiths (descended from/related to Hepziba Smith) are actually descended from Helga Hufflepuff, and there IS a character named Sally Smith in the original 40. Although, I found out afterward writing this chapter that J.K.Rowling actually did provide a family situation for Theodore Nott, and it is not the one I provided here. The one that is in this chapter and which I will be using in this story, I borrow from the fanfiction 'The Rise of a Dark Lord' by LittleMissXanda (one of my favourite fanfictions on this site, you should really check it out if you haven't already. It also had a Harry/Tom pairing, except Harry is more like Tom and actually becomes a Dark Lord, it's really awesome), I may also borrow the names from that story as well, as they are the ones I am used to and any others just wouldn't fit in my mind. So, sorry about that :/
> 
> Then there's the flying lesson... I always thought that Hooch was a really stupid teacher for not doing anything but Yell when Neville lost control of his broom, and I just wanted Harry t give her a good tongue lashing. But of course, how do horrible teachers react when you call them out on how horrible they are? They exert their authority and hand out punishments. I also wanted to show that the prejudice towards Slytherins goes as far as among the teachers and not only the students. In canon, Harry saved Neville's Rememberall and got drafted onto the Quidditch team (even though he was too young, didn't try out and broke the rules). But when Harry's a Slytherin, he saves one of his classmates from bodily harm and is punished for it. It is seen as 'disobediance and disrespecting authority'. But anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter :) sorry again for the lateness, and I hope that you will leave some kudos if you haven't already and leave a comment below :) I answer all comments that I receive, no matter how short or long, so I hope you'll write one :)


	17. Birthdays, Traditions and All-Nighters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter has abusive relatives and he once died, met his dead Mother and Marvolo. Since then, Voldemort's soul piece has been teaching Harry magic. Harry is at Hogwarts and is friends with Draco, Hermione and Neville. The other Slytherins don't like Harry and generally avoid him. People are beginning to wonder if Harry will go dark, Ron Weasley hates him irrevocably and all Harry wants to do is learn magic, make friends and make Marvolo proud. Harry and his new friends started hanging out in an empty classroom after they got kicked out of the library. The Weasley twins found them there and now they occasionally hang out with them. Snape has started to realize that Harry is his own person. Madam Hooch got mad at Harry when he saved Neville on his broomstick and gave him detention. And Hermione has three Ravenclaw friends named Mandy Brocklehurst, Su Li, and Lisa Turpin. The latter is a sweet girl, but seems to be hiding something...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains prejudice, descriptions of magical (historically Pagan/Celtic) holidays, hinting at law breaking, hinting at government corruption, descriptions of Dark Magic, gods and goddesses and mentions of bullying.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words._

The next Thursday, Harry was ranting about Hooch to his friends during breakfast. The Gryffindors and Slytherins had their second flying lesson that day and while he was definitely looking forward to riding a broom again, he was definitely _not_ looking forward to having to see that bloody bird-woman again. He, Draco and Neville were standing by the Ravenclaw table while Hermione was sitting next to Mandy and Lisa, and Su was sitting next to Mandy. Then suddenly, an owl flew passed them and dropped a colourfully wrapped package, which could only be a book, right in front of Hermione, complete with a bow.

“What's that?” Mandy asked excitedly. Hermione blushed. There was a card on top of the package, Mandy grabbed it and exclaimed, “Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday today!?” Hermione blushed even deeper as they all demanded to know why they hadn't been told.

“I just didn't want to make a big deal out of it...” Hermione said,

“B-but now we c-can't get you a-anything!” Neville protested.

“I don't _want_ anything.” Hermione said quietly, “I even told my parents not to get me anything...” they continued to question her until she used not wanting to be late for Herbology as an excuse to get away. Harry had Herbology with her, but it wasn't starting for quite a while, there was honestly no point in going now; and he had just come up with an idea. He turned to Neville and told him to tell the Weasley twins to meet him in the Study Room right after second period.  He also told Draco and the Ravenclaw girls to follow him somewhere during lunch, as the Slytherins and Ravenclaws had second period together as well; Charms.  Neville immediately ran over to the Gryffindor table to inform the Twins.

After second period was over, Harry told Hermione that he had something to do that lunch and that he wouldn't see her until dinner because he had his flying lesson. She looked confused but said that it was alright, her confusion only increased however when Su, Mandy and Lisa followed after him. What were they up to..? Harry led the Ravenclaws to the empty classroom that they had dubbed the 'Study Room' and said the current password,

“Snake's mane and lion's feathers.” Hermione had researched how to put a password on the room, they thought that it would be best so that no one discovered the place, came in, and destroyed it (namely Ronald Weasley and Seamus Finnigan). If the password wasn't said, then it would just seem like a normal locked classroom door. The door opened at the spoken password to reveal what _used_ to be an empty classroom, but now looked like a comfortable sitting room with many stuffed black leather chairs and couches, courtesy of the Malfoys. Desks and tables in front and in between the chairs and couches, and the colours of Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin decorating the walls, both of which were the courtesy of Fred, George and Harry who had revealed _some_ of his magical power to his friends after the incident during Slytherin and Gryffindor's first flying lesson.

While the people on the ground may have been too far away to see it, Neville had definitely felt himself stop falling in mid-air. There was no point in denying it, and if he was perfectly honest, it was kind of fun to show off a little. He hadn't shown them everything that he could do, and he hadn't told them about the wandless magic or the Occlumency, but he  _ had _ told them that he was more magically powerful than most first years. Hermione had been absolutely fascinated and Draco was definitely impressed. The three Ravenclaws looked around the room in wonder and amazement.

“This is our Study Room.” Harry said with a proud smile, “People from other houses aren't allowed into house common rooms, so we had to come up with somewhere else to meet and hang out. Fred, George and Neville should be here soon.” a moment after he said that, Fred and George arrived.

“Hey Harry,” said Fred.

“Heard you needed us,” continued George.

“It better be important, we're missing lunch for this.” Fred teased.

“Yeah it is, I'll tell you as soon as,” then Neville came through the door, walking head first right into the twins who then turned to grin at the shy boy wickedly, he quickly scurried away from them. “Good, he's here. Alright, now the reason why I have all of you here is because today is Hermione's birthday–” Draco groaned and Harry gave him a sharp glare. “She didn't tell us about it, so of course none of us knew to get her anything, but I still want it to be special for her. She never had any friends before coming to Hogwarts, so she's likely never had a birthday party before. I want to throw her one.” Fred and George grinned mischievously, to which Harry added, “No pranks, this is her first birthday party and I want it to be special, not humiliating.” the twins whined but conceded. Neville and Mandy smiled widely at the idea, Su and Lisa smirked and Draco groaned, Harry paid him no mind.

“Fred, George, you know where the kitchens are, don't you?”

*

The house elves had been incredibly accommodating to them, as well as incredibly adorable. They were so eager to serve them food and they were especially ecstatic when they said they wanted them to make a birthday cake for dinner. The elves had then excitedly asked them what kind of cake their friend liked, and they were all at a loss until the quiet voice of Lisa Turpin spoke up, startling quite a few of them who had pretty much forgotten she was there at all.

“She likes chocolate,” she said softly, “But not too rich or sweet. And she likes buttermilk icing. Her favourite colour is lilac.” They all stared at her.

“How do you know that?” Su asked suspiciously, the girl shrunk back a bit and shrugged her small shoulders.

“She mentions these things sometimes... I listen...” they let it go and watched the elves as they got to work. They created a beautiful chocolate cake with lavender buttermilk icing, beautifully decorating it in icing flowers and swirls. After they had told the elves a bit about Hermione, out of icing they created a little pile of books with an eagle sitting atop them, its wings outstretched on the top of the cake. In front of that they put a number '12' candle. Nobody had noticed that Lisa was gone until she came back. She held out a card and said for them all to sign it. On the front was a picture of a little cartoon Hermione surrounded by little cartoon versions of all of them, they were all moving and the little cartoon Draco was even scowling.

“I left to find a spell in the library to make it move... I can't draw real people, cartoons is the best I can do...” Mandy and Su were a little skeptical about it until they read what she had written inside. Their eyes softened at the words and they smiled as they signed it. Even Draco reluctantly signed it in the end. After lunch was over, they all left to their respective classes. At 3:30 Harry, Draco and Neville had flying lessons. Harry made sure to be on his very best behaviour throughout so as to not risk getting a detention, even though the irritable bird-woman kept glaring at him and trying to goad him into saying something. But he would not mess up Hermione's birthday party by getting detention.

When dinner finally came around Harry, Fred, George, Neville and Draco were already standing by the Ravenclaw table when Hermione, Mandy, Su and Lisa came into the Great Hall. Hermione looked confused and like she was trying to figure them out, that is until she got to the Ravenclaw table and sat down. The moment she did, she gasped in surprise as her towering birthday cake appeared, now reading 'Happy Birthday Hermione Granger' on the front of the middle layer of cake in dark blue icing. Surrounding the cake were dozens of lilac cupcakes that the elves must have made after they left. As pink, blue and lilac streamers, ribbons and confetti fell from the sunny sky-ceiling, Harry, Neville, Fred, George, Su, Mandy and Lisa all yelled,

“Happy Birthday Hermione!!” while Draco stood there silently, rolling his eyes. They all (excluding Draco) then blew into noise makers that Fred and George had given them. When they did, they all sounded like different musical instruments; Harry's like a flute, Neville's like a bass guitar, Fred's like a bagpipe, George's like a trumpet, Su's like a violin, Mandy's like a saxophone and little Lisa's like a large tuba. The now twelve year old girl was speechless and her eyes were oddly damp. Then the Headmaster, followed by all of the other staff members present at dinner that evening, stood up and applauded. Many of the students joined in the applause as well.

“So  _ this _ is what you've all been up to?” Hermione said once all of the applause had quieted down. “You didn't have to do this, I mean, you  _ really _ didn't have to...”

“We wanted to.” said Harry with a smile and they all nodded. Hermione looked like she was going to continue to protest, until Lisa quietly said,

“Um, Hermione?” then she turned towards the shy girl who usually never spoke, especially not in the Great Hall around so many people. “I, um, I drew a card for you and-and everyone signed it...” Hermione took the card and exclaimed,

“You  _ drew _ this?!” the short girl smiled and nodded, “This is amazing!” she smiled even wider. Then Hermione opened the card and read what Lisa had written inside:

_To the girl who thinks she knows it all,_

_Here's something you probably didn't know:_

_We all love and care about you a lot._

_So next time it's your birthday or something, tell us, will you?_

_Happy Birthday From: Lisa Turpin, Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Mandy Brocklehurst, Su Li, Gred Weasley, Forge Weasley and Draco Malfoy._

A single tear escaped her eye and fell down her face as she stood up and hugged Lisa tightly,

“Thank you.” she whispered quietly. Then she wiped her tear away and turned to hug Harry (she thought she felt him flinch for a moment, but then decided that it must have been her imagination), then Neville, then Fred and George both engulfed her in their arms together, then Mandy practically tackled and jumped on her, then Su gave her a quick and stiff one-armed hug and Draco shook her hand.

“Thank you, all of you.” she said sincerely, “Now let's have some cake shall we, I know that I'll never be able to eat all of this myself.” And they did. And so did many people from other houses and even the teachers who came over from their tables to the Ravenclaw table to share in the cake and cupcakes. Hermione really didn't mind, but she was quite surprised to find that it was both her favourite cake  _ and _ her favourite kind of icing, on top of the fact that it was her favourite colour. How had they known? She supposed that she must have mentioned them just in passing, but she hadn't expected that anyone would ever remember... Hermione really enjoyed her birthday party and she lost track of how many times she had thanked her friends. She would remember this day for the rest of her life as the first time she ever felt like she truly belonged and was truly cared for by her friends. It was by far, at this point, the best day of her life...

*

After Hermione's birthday, the rest of September passed by in a flash. Before anyone in their Study Group knew it, it was October. On the first day of the month, after coming back from dinner, Fred and George were in a secluded corner whispering secretively, likely about future pranks or inventions. Harry and Draco had already finished their homework from the day and were quietly reading on one of the couches, Hermione and Neville were sitting on another of the couches as the latter helped the former with his homework. Crabbe and Goyle were standing guard quietly on either side of the Study Room door, like they often did when Draco brought them along. Harry supposed that they liked to feel useful, even though the door was magically locked and sealed with a password that they changed every couple weeks.

Neville sighed happily a few minutes later and relaxed on the couch, letting them know that he had finished his homework. Hermione smiled at him before she pulled out her own homework which she had neglected until she had made sure that Neville was finished his.

“What's the date?” she asked absentmindedly.

“October first.” the twins answered together from their corner.

“It's October already?” Hermione said in surprise. “I hadn't noticed. I guess I've just been so caught up with school work and reading that I didn't realize that September was almost over... I can't believe we've been in school for that long already, it all just flew by so fast. I wonder if Hogwarts celebrates Halloween–”

“It does.” Draco said with venom. Hermione put down her quill gingerly and glared at the blond.

“Did I say something to offend you?” Hermione retorted with mock sweetness.

“Yes actually, in fact, you even  _ being here _ offends me.” Harry groaned, he'd thought that Draco had gotten over that by now, but apparently not.

“ _ Excuse _ me?!” Hermione demanded, standing up from her seat next to Neville.

“You heard me clearly.” Draco retorted, also standing up from his seat next to Harry. “Because of you and you  _ kind,  _ Hogwarts now celebrates something as stupid as  _ Halloween _ .”

“Well, it's not my fault you don't like the holiday!”

“Don't like it?” Draco said with an airy laugh, “It's an insult to magic herself to celebrate such a plebeian muggle holiday. It's absolutely ridiculous! Dressing up and asking for sweets–”

“It's  _ supposed _ to be fun!” Hermione yelled, “Scaring each other and having a laugh afterwards. Just because it's a  _ muggle _ holiday doesn't make it bad!”

“It spits in the face of magic herself!” Draco thundered angrily, “It's a ridiculous holiday with no real meaning! Scaring each other and having a laugh?! You can do that anytime! The 31 st of October only happens once a year and to  _ waste _ it with sweets and costumes and stupid pranks to scare each other–”

“It's fun!” Hermione interrupted, “And if witches and wizards can't have fun for a day, then maybe they should learn something from muggles!”

“This is  _ exactly _ why your kind shouldn't be let in here!” Draco shouted at her, “You come here with all of your 'holidays' and 'celebrations', and we're forced to change to accommodate  _ you _ ! Meanwhile our traditions, which have been around for  _ thousands _ of years, are pushed aside, trampled on and  _ ridiculed _ !”

“What traditions?” Hermione asked in a much quieter voice, but Draco didn't seem to take notice as he shouted back,

“ _ What traditions _ ?! Didn't bother to look them up, did you?! Not important enough to find out about the culture and sacred traditions of the world you're currently living in?!”

“Draco,” Harry said loudly in a forceful voice, “Both me and Hermione have done a lot of reading about this world, and not once did I come across any customs or traditions of the magical world. Hermione actually sounds genuinely curious, so could you  _ please _ stop shouting at each other for  _ once _ and just have a normal conversation?” Draco and Hermione glared at each other, but both sat back down. “Good.” Harry said, “Now Draco, could you please explain what these traditions are to me and Hermione and – Do you three know about these?” Harry asked turning to Fred, George (who had come out of their corner to sit with the rest of them when Hermione and Draco had started arguing) and Neville, they all nodded, “Okay, so we're the only ones out of the loop. Could someone please explain these traditions to us?”

So the four Pure-bloods explained to the two muggle-raised members of their group what the traditions of the magical world were. Well, Draco explained most of it. Apparently the Weasleys didn't follow the old traditions. And the Longbottoms only celebrated some of them. The funny part was, most muggle holidays were bastardized rip-offs of the magical ones, without all of the meaning and magic. There were eight celebrations in the year, one at each equinox and solstice and then one in between each of those. They were all celebrated differently and all honoured different parts of life and magic as well various gods and goddesses. Harry and Hermione hadn't even known that gods and goddesses existed!  The were very open to the idea though.

The 31 st of October was originally and actually Samhain (pronounced  _ Sow-in _ not  _ Sam-hayn _ or any other variant). It was technically the new year in the magical world, though due to the muggle influence it was no longer respected as such. It was the most important (as well as the magically darkest) day of the magical calendar. It was a time of endings and new beginnings, a time to honour and remember the dead and to rid yourself of weaknesses and renew your energies. It was a time to study the dark mysteries of the world and to honour the Dark Mother and Dark Father. It was a time to reflect on the old year that has gone by and to look forward to the new year to come.

After Samhain was Yule, which was celebrated on the 25 th of December as it was the celebration of the Winter Solstice. Yule was a time to celebrate life and birth. It was a time of peace and harmony, of love and increased happiness. It was a time to exchange gifts and be merry with one another. The evergreen tree was a symbol of the holiday because even in the harsh colds of winter, it is still green with life. It shows that even in the harshest of circumstances, life can, and will, still thrive. There was also the ritualistic burning of the Yule Log (which is unfortunately now illegal); the largest log to be found would be set alight with magical fire that would not go out, and the log would burn until there was nothing left of it. This burning could sometimes take up to twelve days (which was actually where the song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' first originated).

Next was Imbolc (pronounced Imm-ulk, without the b), which was celebrated on the first of February. The muggle rip-off of the holiday was ground-hog day, which was celebrated on February the second. However, the only thing at all in common between the two was that the muggles believed that a groundhog's shadow was an omen which would tell them how much longer winter would be (which was completely ridiculous). Imbolc was the beginning of spring and the day of the year when divination was at its most powerful. Wizards and witches would light what is called an Imbolc fire, which was a special kind of fire that was best for seeing omens, and they would eat and drink and dance around it merrily. Using one's inner eye to attempt to see the future, past, present or some secret or hidden away mystery was much easier on this day than any other. Far more prophecies were given on this day and far more omens were spotted, not just in the Imbolc fire either. Like how Samhain is a day for death, Imbolc is a day for fate, and to appreciate all that life brings and all that may ever be.

After Imbolc was Ostara, which is what Easter is based off of, it's celebrated between March 20 th and 23 rd and is the Spring Equinox. While Imbolc may celebrate the beginning of spring, Ostara celebrates what actually happens during spring. The return of the plants and the crops, the awakening of some animals from hibernation and the birth of others. At this point Hermione had said that she thought that Yule was the celebration of life and birth. Draco responded scathingly and said that life and birth were  _ kind of _ important, so why shouldn't they celebrate it more than once a year?? Then Neville had told them that his Gran had told him that Ostara also celebrated what she called 'adult love', which Yule didn't. At that comment, the Twins started laughing and Draco snickered. He agreed, Ostara  _ did _ celebrate 'adult love', and he said that it also celebrated something called 'fertility', which no one would tell him what it was when he asked. Witches and wizards would celebrate Ostara by planting seeds, enjoying nature and painting eggs (which are a symbol of new life). Some families choose to hide the eggs for their children to find (like with the muggle Easter), while others use them to decorate their alters.

The next celebration was Beltane, which was also refereed to as 'May Eve', 'Walpurgis Night' or 'Walpurgisnacht' and was celebrated on the 31st of April or the 1st of May. Beltane marked the beginning of summer and the main focuses of the celebration were purification and growth. Rituals (which were now illegal) were often performed to protect, purify and encourage the growth of people, livestock and crops. It was a time to become anew, to rid yourself of all the negative energies which the year has brought and grow from your experiences, while also letting them go. It is a time to reflect, as well as to leave the past in the past.

After Beltane was Litha, which was the Summer Solstice, celebrated between the 20 th and 23 rd of June. Litha celebrates midsummer and the longest day of the year. The celebrations often take place outside throughout the day, and even into the night. Everything about this day is meant to honour the gift of the sun from the gods and goddesses. Therefore all of the activities have to do with fire, including the food. One popular ritual on this day is to roll a ring of fire down a hill into a body of water, this represents that although this is the longest day of the year, it is also when the days begin to get shorter. Children enjoy this day as they get to stay up late to watch the sun set, and then afterwords, their parents would often create a bonfire or shoot fireworks or sparks into the night sky.

Next was  Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo-nah-sah) , which was celebrated on the first of August or the Sunday nearest to it. Part of the celebration was meant to make them appreciate the magic which they were born with, by having them hike up to the top of a mountain or steep hill without using it. Once there, was when the remainder of the celebration would begin, which consisted of a grand feast which must always include bilberries (making it of course named the Bilberry Feast). Then they would often hold ritual athletic and sporting contests, both magical and physical, which were quite similar to the muggle Olympic Games. However, many of these games were banned by the ministry for being incredibly dangerous.

The last celebration was Mabon, which was the Autumn Equinox and was celebrated between September 20 th and 23 rd . This had already passed about a week before. In ancient times when the life of witches and wizards revolved around the harvesting of crops, this was the second harvest. When most of the crops were already picked and the ground was beginning to become barren once again. But more than that, this was a day to celebrate balance, as at this time in the year night and day were in equal measure. The balance between Light and Dark was once celebrated in many ways, even in the schools. However, now that the ministry had made its celebration illegal, due to the very theme of the holiday, the schools no longer celebrated it. And neither did parents as they didn't want to celebrate without their children. And they too had never truly celebrated it either and were not entirely sure how to. This has left Mabon as merely a time for individuals to pray and appreciate the balance of nature, rather than the celebration it was once meant to be.

“Wow.” was all Harry could say when they'd finished, “That's way better than the muggle versions of the holidays. Santa Clause, the Eater Bunny... It all seems kind of stupid now.” Draco smiled smugly at that.

“I can't believe that I didn't read about this in a book!” Hermione exclaimed frustratedly. “The Wizarding World really is like a foreign culture. Why aren't muggle raised witches and wizards taught about this?!” Surprisingly, it was Neville who answered,

“W-well, most of the t-traditions and ceremonies are i-illegal. T-that's why G-Gran doesn't c-celebrate all of th-them.”

“Why are they illegal?” Hermione asked, “Are they dangerous?”

“I-I don't r-really know–”

“No.” Draco interrupted, “They aren't dangerous, well, besides the sporting events of Lughnasadh.  They're illegal just because they involve Dark Magic.”

“But...” Hermione said, looking confused, “I thought that Dark Magic was things like curses and hexes that can hurt people.”

“Some of it is.” Draco said nonchalantly, “Some of it is curses and hexes and torture spells, but that's not all Dark Magic is. It also includes things like Blood Magic, Bone Magic, most Soul Magic and strong Elemental Magic. The ministry decides what's dark and what isn't nowadays. Dark magic used to just be defined by the magic itself, just what kind of magic it was, now that's all decided by the ministry and it's  _ all _ illegal and considered evil.”

“Well if it's illegal then there must be a reason for it.” Hermione said determinedly. Draco just shrugged his shoulders in response. No one else commented on it after that, but Harry saw Fred and George look at each other in confused silent conversation. They seemed to do that a lot. Harry had never met two people who knew each other better than the Weasley twins, even other twins couldn't compare. The rest of the day continued as usual, for all of them.

*

About a week and a half after their discussion about magical holidays, Hermione had had the  _ brilliant _ idea to stay up all night. She hadn't meant to, she really hadn't, but she had been helping Neville with his homework again. Then after he had finished his homework she had taken it upon herself to organize and colour-code all of his notes, even rewriting some of them if they were illegible or crumpled. Then after she had finished with that and she had gone to put his notes away, she had seen how horribly messy and disorganized his trunk was! Of course, she just  _ had _ to fix that. If she didn't, then who would? And she would  _ not _ have Neville carrying around such a messy and disorganized trunk.

When she had finally finished with all of those things, she realized that it was nearly past curfew and she hadn't even  _ started _ on her Potions essay that was due the next day! Professor Snape had only just given it to them the day before, and she had been much too busy helping Neville to do her own homework, and  _ then  _ she had gotten into a lengthy discussion with the Gryffindor about the plant they were currently learning about in Herbology. Neville was surprisingly good at Herbology, she had even asked  _ him _ for help in that subject a couple times. When she got to her dorm, she immediately got to work writing it, it had taken a couple hours before she was finally finished. But then Hermione had read the essay over and realized that it was absolutely  _ terrible _ , so she rewrote the whole essay. It ended up being double the length of the last one and three times the length that was expected. She knew that Professor Snape wouldn't be very pleased about that, but she couldn't find any information that wasn't important, so she left it alone. 

By this time, it was 2:30 in the morning and Hermione  _ knew _ that she should get some sleep, but her mind was still in working-mode and it was moving far too fast for her to even  _ attempt _ to sleep. So she decided to be productive and work on her Charms essay, even though it wouldn't be due until Tuesday and the day was currently Thursday – well, Friday now, as it was 2:30 in the morning. At around 3:30, Lisa told her quietly that she should probably get some sleep soon, or she'd be tired in the morning, Hermione responded by saying she couldn't sleep and needed to write this essay and asked her why  _ she _ wasn't asleep. To which the girl replied that she  _ always _ stayed up this late and would be fine, but Hermione wouldn't be. She brushed Lisa off and went back to her essay, which she was putting, some would say, far too much detail into, but she knew that her Head of House wouldn't mind. 

Lisa went to sleep shortly after four in the morning and Hermione didn't finish her essay until almost six. It was nearly five times longer than the required length and her writing was quite small when compared to the other students. Hermione knew that if she went to sleep at this time then she would never be able to get up in time for her classes that day, so she decided to keep herself awake by reading.

Hermione's first two periods that day were Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs and it was absolutely dreadful. Despite her attempts to stay awake, Lisa had needed to wake her from a light doze so they would be on time for their class, handing her an egg sandwich which she had apparently gotten from the kitchen for her. She would never say it (because she would never admit that she was wrong nor insult a teacher) but Professor Quirrell truly was a terrible Defence teacher. He may have been good at being a Muggle Studies teacher, but the man seemed far too afraid of his subject to teach it properly. The most they did in class was read a chapter of their textbook, which Hermione had read many times already cover-to-cover. Hermione nearly dozed off many times throughout the first two periods and while Lisa said that she should be left to sleep, Su and Mandy were doing their best to keep her awake.

During lunch Hermione ate as many sugary and caffeinated foods as she could so that she would be able to stay awake during Potions, knowing exactly how disastrous that class could become if she didn't. By the end of lunch, Hermione was practically vibrating, her friends gave her worried looks, but she didn't care, her mind was too fuzzy to care. She handed in her essay and Professor Snape eyed the length in distaste, she didn't care about that either though. The class went by without a hitch, she worked with Lisa like she always did, the girl wasn't bad at Potions. On the contrary, she was actually quite good, if a little bit clumsy at times, but she was nowhere near as bad as Mandy. Hermione didn't understand why no one else in Ravenclaw wanted to work with her. And Hufflepuff had even numbers so they were always paired off immediately, so Hermione always worked with Lisa. If she didn't, then no one else would. By the end of class her sugar-rush was wearing off and she felt even more tired than she had before.

She was half-asleep during her walk back up to Ravenclaw Tower. She barely even registered Lisa's firm grip on her arm that kept her from falling over, turning the wrong way or passing out. Though she would remember it when next she woke up, she barely noticed when Lisa pulled her covers back on her bed, gently pushed her down, lifted her legs onto the bed and tucked her in.

“Good night Hermione.” she said with a soft giggle. Hermione vaguely remembered mumbling something in reply before she was lost in a sea of her own unconscious thoughts... She was startled awake a couple hours later by a loud 'clink' beside her head.

“Sorry, didn't mean to wake you...” said Lisa, “I brought us some food from the kitchens...” Hermione blinked blearily as she looked at the offending plate of food next to her head and sat up.

“You didn't go to the Great Ha-a-all?” Hermione said with a yawn.

“Who would I sit with?” Lisa asked quietly. Hermione only hummed in response, it was a bit of a touchy subject. Not because Lisa would get mad or even act upset about it, but because it made Hermione just feel uncomfortable to see that bitter-sweet look on the small girl's face and know that her other friends were the cause of it. “You don't mind if I change, do you? Or should I go into the bathroom?” she asked with a blush.

“No, I don't mind.” Hermione said, but then she looked up at the clock (there were clocks in all of the dorms because Rowena Ravenclaw always valued knowledge above all else, including the knowledge of what time it was at all times), “Isn't it a little early to be getting changed though? Wouldn't you rather spend time with your friends?” Lisa gave a humourless laugh as she pulled her robes off, followed by her small bra (which surprised Hermione, after all, _she_  didn't wear bras yet...) and said,

“What friends?” Hermione felt something in her gut drop at the words. “Everyone in Ravenclaw hate me; think I'm annoying 'cause I don't talk much. Except you.” then she pulled on her muggle pyjamas and sat back on her bed.

“Oh...” she said, “I guess I just assumed that you had friends in other houses... other years... something...”

“Nope.” she said, “Just you.” Hermione felt a mixture of flattery and pity at the statement.

“What do you do all day then?” she asked softly.

“Homework, read, sleep, I don't get much during the night. Then you come back from your Study Group and talk to me for a bit.” Hermione felt horrible for not realizing that her own room-mate didn't have any other friends besides her... She wanted to make up for it. After all, despite being quiet and shy, the girl had been an amazing friend over the last month and a bit. She especially remembered that card that she had drawn for her birthday.

“It's decided then.” Hermione said determinedly.

“What?” Lisa asked, looking quite startled.

“Tomorrow, you're spending the day with me and my friends.” from behind her long bangs Hermione saw Lisa's big eyes grow even wider.

“I-I, no, I-I... I don't want to be a-a bother...”

“You won't be.” Hermione said with just as much determination, “I'll talk to Harry about it tomorrow and I'll let you know, I don't see a reason why it should be a problem.” and it wasn't. Hermione walked over to the Slytherin table during breakfast, ignoring the glares she was getting for being a muggleborn and asked Harry if Lisa could join them that day. Draco immediately shot her down, but Harry had glared at him, to her amusement, and said that it should be alright.

So that day, Lisa joined them in the Study Room. Fred and George teased her about being the 'new little firstie to join the club' and for being so short until Harry had told them to leave her alone. They had backed off, but they still looked at her maliciously. Draco took to glaring at the new arrival who was invading, just like the others had, on his friendship with Harry. He didn't understand why the black-haired boy kept adopting these strays, but it irritated him to no end. First the know-it-all muggleborn and the friendless, clumsy Gryffindor, then a couple of  _ Weasleys _ , though they weren't nearly as bad as the other two were, and now a little friendless Ravenclaw who looked like she was eight. 

Neville liked her, she was like him, kind of. But that was also a problem considering that meant both of them were really awkward, so there wasn't really any conversation between the two of them. Harry wasn't really sure what he thought of her, she was nice and really quiet and talked very little. At some point between when the twins had left for the kitchens to get food and when they had come back, Lisa had fallen asleep on the couch she was on. Hermione told them that apparently she didn't get very much sleep during the night and she usually slept during the day.

“Awww.” Fred and George had chorused together before picking her up and laying her across their laps. She did look really cute, like a little kid, even Draco thought so, though he wouldn't admit it. The girl had slept until Hermione and Draco had gotten into one of their usual fights, and this time not even Harry could calm them down. They were arguing about the morals of having house-elves. That is, until a soft giggle echoed through the room, then they stopped arguing to turn to her. When she saw that they were all staring at her, she backed away a bit only to find that she was laying on top of Fred and George. Startled, she then ended up falling onto the floor. Everyone had laughed, she had even joined in with a few soft giggles. Then George had helped her up and there had been silence for a few moments.

“C-can I come here again tomorrow..?” Lisa asked so quietly that they almost couldn't hear. Harry, Hermione, Fred, George and Neville had immediately replied,

“Of course you can.”, completely drowning out Draco's reply of,

“No.” she smiled wider than Hermione had ever seen her smile before.

“Welcome to the multi-house Study Group, Lisa Turpin.” the twins said simultaneously with identical smirks. From that moment on, little Lisa Turpin had joined the Study Group.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how incredibly late this chapter is... My computer stopped working and I had to get a new one, and that took a while. Then I kept forgetting to post because things would come up and now this chapter is dreadfully late and I'm really very sorry about it. So thank you to all of you for waiting so patiently, and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter :) I always hated how in every single book Hermione's birthday is always completely overlooked when it's right there at the beginning of the year. So, I wanted to do something special for her, I hope that you enjoyed :) It also gave Harry a reason to behave during his next flying lesson. This also gave me a chance to show a little more about Lisa before the end of the chapter.
> 
> I also hope that you enjoyed the discussion about Wizarding traditions. Although, I apologize if any of the information is wrong, I did quite a bit of research on them, but the internet isn't always right. So again, I apologize to any of my readers who are actual Pagans, I myself am not, I don't celebrate these holidays, but I thought that it would make sense in the world of Harry Potter. Also, I had to change a couple things about the holidays on purpose in order for them to make sense with the witches and wizards of Harry Potter. Obviously, the actual celebrations are made for real life Pagans, who do not use magic in the fictional way of wands and bright sparks. Instead it's mostly prayer and very spiritual, so in order to make these holidays fit in the world of Harry Potter, some things are different on purpose. I apologize if this offends you, if anyone has any complaints about this, then please leave them in the comment section bellow and I will address them accordingly.
> 
> As for the last part where Lisa joins the Study group, I have been planning this for quite a while. I also wanted a way for Hermione (and readers) to discover Lisa's sleeping problem. I'm not entirely sure if it counts as insomnia as she does actually sleep, just during the day and the last couple hours of night, but she does have a problem with sleep. And I figured Hermione being Hermione would be very likely to do something like this (an all-nighter for homework), so I figured that it was perfect. Also, what did you think of the design of the Study Room and the password for it? And I am aware that this chapter had no Marvolo in it, there is a very good reason for that which will be revealed in the next chapter. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did then please leave a comment or Kudos to let me know :) I have noticed that in my absence the Kudo count has reached over 1000!!! That is absolutely amazing!! I never thought that it could reach that amount, so thank you all so much :)
> 
> Also, just a little announcement, the next chapter, Chapter Eighteen, is going to be the most action-packed and important chapter yet!! This chapter was actually just a filler to get to Chapter Eighteen. As you can probably already tell, it's going to be about Halloween, or Samhain, and everyone knows what happens then! But it will also be the longest chapter so far, so I hope that you will enjoy it, I will try to have it up in a week or two. Very sorry about the crazy long end-notes, but I had a lot to say. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will continue to enjoy this story in the future!!!


	18. Samhain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dursleys abused Harry and Vernon killed him. Harry then met his dead Mother and Marvolo. Since then, Voldemort's soul piece has been teaching Harry magic. Harry is at Hogwarts and is friends with Draco, Hermione, Neville, Fred and George Weasley and most recently, Lisa Turpin; a shy, mysterious Ravenclaw girl who is Hermione's roommate and doesn't have any other friends. The other Slytherins don't like Harry and generally avoid him. People wonder if Harry will go dark, Ron Weasley hates him and all Harry wants to do is learn magic, make friends and make Marvolo proud. Harry and his friends hang out in an empty classroom that they call the Study Room. Just recently Hermione and Draco got into (another) fight, this time about wizarding Holidays, and thus the Holidays were introduced to the non-purebloods of the group. The school year is now well on its way as it is now the end of October and the Study Group is looking forward to celebrating their first Samhain together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains mild prejudice, celebrating a controversial pagan holiday, severe injury, talk about death, grieving, talk of gods, goddesses and prayer, and magical stuff.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~_

Chapter Eighteen

 ~~Halloween~~ Samhain

  
October seemed to fly by even faster than September did, and before the Study Group knew it, it was October 30th. To the rest of the school, the next day would be Halloween, but to them, and to many other Pure-blood children, it would be Samhain. Shortly after the day when they had been told about it, Harry had decided that they should celebrate Samhain in the Study Room, the others had all excitedly agreed. Even Lisa had been excited about it when they had explained it to her, she'd never heard of it before but she was excited to try it.

She told them that her mum was a witch and her dad was a muggle, and until she was six years old her mum had tried to pretend that she was a muggle too. But then she'd had to tell her dad about magic because she just couldn't cover up the fact that Lisa had somehow managed to end up sitting perfectly comfortably on the ceiling. Since then, her dad has never been entirely comfortable with the idea of magic, so her mother mostly continues to act like a muggle. Though, she's been doing a lot more magic lately in secret, and when her dad finds out about it, he gets mad and they fight.  And it's all her fault because it all started when she'd gone and sat on the ceiling and spoiled her mum's secret... After letting that slip, she had trailed off and refused to talk anymore for the rest of the day or the day after.

On October 30th, everyone in the Study Group was ecstatic for their Samhain ceremony that would be taking place after the Halloween feast the next day. Harry had never seen Draco so excited before and it made him smile to see it. Draco had been the one to provide them with how to do the ceremonies in the first place, they were the only ones that the blond knew of that were actually still legal (which probably meant that his family practiced the illegal ones.  Harry was just glad that Hermione hadn't picked up on that). Everything was all set up and ready in the Study Room, now all they had to do was wait another day...

They awoke the next morning to the delicious smells of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Harry could tell that Draco was trying to scowl at the scent, but was having difficulty, he reminded the blond that celebrating Samhain didn't mean that he needed to act like he didn't like the smell of baking pumpkins. But then Draco had said that he was protesting the invasive muggle holidays and he wouldn't allow himself to be tempted. He was making a stand against it, for Morgana's sake! But Harry could very clearly see the boy's mouth watering when he saw all of the pumpkin-based dishes out at breakfast.

In Charms class that day they were finally going to be using the spell that they had been told about days ago, many in the class had been quite looking forward to trying it, ever since Flitwick had made Ravenclaw Tracey Davis' creepy little doll (that she carried around with her everywhere) zoom around the room.  Of course, Harry had already tried and easily succeeded with the spell the day that Flitwick had told them the incantation. Not to mention the fact that he had been able to make things float and zoom around for months, it was the first bit of wand-less magic that Marvolo had taught him how to do.  But even still, it was exciting that they would be doing something hands on in class, even if the spell had already lost a bit of its thrall.

“Now, don't forget the nice wrist movement we've been practicing! Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words is very important, too – never forget wizard Barrufio who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest!” Harry pretended like he was attempting the spell, but he didn't put his will and magic into it, then after a couple times he gave into his magic that was itching at him to do it right, to unleash it.

“Wingardium Leviosa .” Harry said softly, this time imbuing his magic and will into the words, just like Marvolo had taught him.

“Oh, well done! See here everyone, Mr. Potter's done it!” He made the feather rise up into the air, spin and twirl around the classroom, even tickle underneath Flitwick's nose, before sending it gently back to his desk.  He knew that he was showing off a bit, but he just couldn't keep his magic restrained right now.  It was quite a feat for Harry to have stopped using it, is was very strange...  Draco, who was his partner for the class, smirked. He already knew that Harry could do it, he wasn't really sure why Harry had pretended he couldn't do it in the first place, but he had followed his example.  Him, the muggleborn and the annoying half-blood could already cast the spell as well, Harry had taught it to them after they had begged him to. Only the stupid Gryffindor hadn't managed to cast the spell. Not long after Harry had done it, Hermione and Draco spelled their feathers into the air, and then Hermione let Lisa have a turn.

“Oh well done! Well done!” Flitwick squeaked. “Five points to all four of you!  Four students on the first day!  I always love teaching the Ravenclaws and Slytherins, so much focus and talent, all in one class!  Not that the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs aren't talented of course...” he trailed off his words.

Harry had noticed that his magic has been acting up a lot over the past couple of days, itching to be used and unleashed, he could feel it buzzing just under his skin and it was becoming quite difficult to contain it. It was even worse today, his magic just didn't want to be contained at all, though he still forced it to be. And even though they didn't seem to realize it, nor did anyone else's. Draco's magic's will to fly seemed even stronger than usual, Hermione's swift magic was becoming quite restless and even quicker than normal, Lisa's chaotic and swirling magic was barely containing itself and was spiraling seemingly quite out of control, yet there still seemed to be nothing wrong with it despite the fact that it was acting much more chaotic than usual.

 _~Idiot boy,~_ said Marvolo, surprising Harry greatly as he hadn't talked to him for a week, and before that had only been talking to him occasionally, _~It's their magics responding to the energies of Samhain. There is a reason why it is known for death and renewal, there is a reason why it is the magical new year; on this day magic is more powerful than on any other day. Especially the more questionable magics. That is actually the reason why I chose this day to come after you. It is the day where the veil between this world and the next is thinnest. All magic gets a sort of, for the lack of a better phrase, 'power boost' on this day, it is especially good for Rituals, Dark Magic, Blood Magic, Soul Magic, Necromancy, and Bone Magic.~_

 _That's really interesting,_ Harry thought at the man, _But where have you been?? You haven't talked to me for days what have you been doing??_ But instead of answering harry's question, Marvolo simply said standoffishly,

_~My absence has never bothered you before.~_

_Yes, but that was before, then after we went to Diagon Alley you started talking to me everyday to teach me, and then all of a sudden you've stopped talking to me again!_

_~I assumed that now that you're in school and I've taught you the basics that you don't need my assistance any longer.~_

_... Even if I don't, I still like talking to you._ Marvolo gave a mental sigh.

_~And I am talking to you now, am I not?~_

_But... but you used to talk to me everyday!_ Harry protested, _What have you been doing all of this time?_ But once again, Marvolo did not answer Harry's question.

 _~I see...~_ Marvolo said slowly, _~I have gotten you too used to my constant presence. That will have to stop immediately then.~_

_What..?_

_~I have allowed you to confuse the relationship between us, this must be corrected immediately. I am not your friend, Harry. I don't have friends. I share this body with you to my own inconvenience, I don't wish to be here with you. I don't want to be trapped in the body of a measly little eleven year old boy. I do not speak with you because I enjoy your company, I speak with you to make you more knowledgeable, knowledge is power and it is to my own benefit that you are powerful. I am not your friend, I am not your buddy, I am not your pal, I am another inhabitant of this body and nothing more. I want to have my own body to do with what I please, but I am currently unable to have that. You are merely a means to an end for the time being._

_~What I do when I am not speaking to you is my own business and_ only _my own. You have become too accustomed to my constant presence and advice, this must come to an end. My actions and motives will_ not _be questioned by the likes of_ you _, a stupid eleven year old boy so starved for praise and attention that you'll accept it in any form you get it. If you want praise and attention, then get it from your idiotic little friends. Don't fool yourself into believing that you are anything of importance to me, because I can tell you for a fact that you are_ not _. I want nothing more than to leave this body but I_ can't _. I am_ trapped _here. You are_ nothing _to me–~_

Harry immediately threw Marvolo out the door in his mental shields ensuring that he wouldn't be able to come back in to witness the turmoil currently inside of him. He didn't want Marvolo to see how much his words had hurt him, how much he was breaking up inside. He knew all of that.  He really did, but knowing something and hearing it were two very different things... Marvolo was right, he had become too accustomed to his presence.  He really did think of Marvolo as a friend, and he already knew that the man didn't feel the same way.  He had told him so on their first night together, but he had hoped, just a lite bit, that over the past few months together that maybe Marvolo had come to care for him too...  But apparently not.

It hurt. It hurt so much. Marvolo meant so much to him, and that he... that he meant absolutely nothing to the man...  It was becoming hard for him to breathe, his insides were curling in on themselves.  It hurt.  He wanted to go back before Marvolo had said anything at all.  He wanted to be in complete denial.  He wanted to continue to believe that maybe Marvolo did care for him, even just a little bit.  He wanted to think that he was important to him. He wanted to think that he was more to Marvolo than just the body that he was currently trapped in...  More than just a stupid little kid...

He wished that he could do something to make Marvolo care.  Do something to make him proud of him, or maybe even just a little bit happy with him.  He wished so badly that he could give Marvolo what he wanted and make him happy, even if it meant he never saw him ever again.  Even if it meant that he killed him.  He really liked his life now, his friends were all amazing and he had a place to call home and he was learning magic and everything in his life was just so wonderful now.  But he had died before, and it really wasn't so bad, he would get to see his mother again and maybe even meet his father.  Life, death, it didn't really matter, he had people who cared about him in both places, and if he could make Marvolo happy, then it would be worth it.  He wanted, more than anything, to give Marvolo his body back.  Maybe then he wouldn't be such a burden to him anymore, he owed the man so much after all...

“Harry, are you alright?” Hermione asked him in a worried voice, it was then that he realized that he was crying.  He wiped his face and nodded.

“Yeah, I'm alright. There was just something in my eye, didn't realize my eyes had watered this much.” he forced a laugh.  She gave him a suspicious look, but let it go. Yes, he decided, _I'm going to give Marvolo a body._

*

Draco scowled as they walked into the Great Hall for dinner. Hagrid the Gamekeeper had been growing large pumpkins which were now carved into incredibly large jack-o-lanterns. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. It actually looked really cool, but it was a shame that they had put so much effort into the muggle holiday when they could have put it into the magical one. As they walked into the hall, Harry saw people turning to look and stare at him, more than usual. Of course they were... This was the day that he had supposedly 'defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort', what a load of tripe... It was his mother who had done that, and not only had she not meant to do it, he wasn't even dead! What they would think if they knew that their 'saviour' had a piece of the man's soul living inside of him–

He halted his train of thought right there. It still hurt to think of Marvolo.

“Don't worry,” Harry said to his currently complaining friend as they sat down at the Slytherin table. “We're just having dinner here, then we're going to the Study Room to celebrate Samhain.” Draco sent him a small smile, but still refused to eat anything on the table, and he ordered his bodyguards to do the same.  They were making a stand, for Circe's sake! Not a very effective one though, as more than once Harry caught Crabbe and Goyle sneaking food into their mouths and pockets when Draco wasn't looking.  Draco had just started getting excited again about their coming celebration and was chatting excitedly about it, when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face.  Everyone stopped eating and stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore’s chair, slumped against the table and gasped,

“Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know.” then he sank onto the floor in a dead faint.  There was an uproar.  It took several purple firecrackers from Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

“Prefects,” he rumbled, “Lead your house back to your dormitories immediately!”

“What?!” Harry exclaimed, “But Slytherin dormitories are actually in the dungeons!  And I'm pretty sure the Hufflepuff dormitories are somewhere nearby as well.  What does he think he's doing sending half the school towards the Troll!?”

“Father always said that Dumbledore was the worst Headmaster this school's ever had,” Draco said bitterly, but he could see the slight fear in the blond's silver eyes at the idea of running into a troll. “Even worse than Phineus Nigellus Black, and he's renowned as the worst Headmaster.  I guess this is just proof.” Harry had to agree, if there's a troll in the dungeons then why would the Headmaster send half the student body in that direction?!  If anything, wouldn't it be safe for all of the students to just  _stay in the Great Hall_   while some teachers go to check it out and the rest stay behind to protect the students?  Sending all of the student out in the school, is a fantastic opportunity for some stupid kid (likely a Gryffindor) to go running off to see the troll, or to even try and fight it.  The Prefects are students too, how are they supposed to control or protect their whole house if they run into a troll?!  The entire situation just seemed ridiculous.

Harry had read about trolls in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, they were classified by four X's, which meant that it was incredibly dangerous, but a skilled wizard or a specialist may be able to handle it.  It was the second highest classification, right underneath 'Known wizard killer and impossible to train or domesticate'.  They can be up to twelve feet tall and weigh over a tonne, they're known for being incredibly strong as well as incredibly stupid.  They're violent and unpredictable and are known to _eat humans_ if given the opportunity.

The teachers all rushed past the Slytherins towards the dungeons, but strangely, Harry noticed, Snape wasn't among them. He looked around and saw that Snape was instead rushing past the Hufflepuffs in the complete other direction.

 _~Follow him.~_ Marvolo said.  Harry felt a great need to tell the man 'no'.  He had hurt him a lot with what he had said, and he didn't want to just follow his orders after that.  But at the same time, he did want to know what Snape was up to...

 _Fine._ Harry thought, slightly sulkily at the man, _But only because_ I _want to, not because_ you _told me to._ Harry then swiftly ducked out of the group of Slytherins and headed towards where he had last seen the Potions Master.

“Hey! Harry? Where are you going?!” Draco said frantically as he followed him.  Harry sighed, Draco looked terrified and desperate to stick by Harry's side.  He supposed that there was no shaking the blond off, so he told him as they walked and ducked around people,

“All the rest of the teachers are headed to the dungeons where the troll is, but your Godfather is headed that way,” he pointed to the direction that the dark man had gone, “And I intend to follow him and find out why.” Draco gave him an odd look before he said,

“You really were meant to be a Gryffindor, weren't you?” Harry snorted.

“Yes, Alistair said that right now I'm a Gryffindor but being in Slytherin could 'help me on my way to greatness' and that here I would 'shed my Gryffindor traits and become a true Slytherin'.” Draco smirked,

“I guess I'll just have to help you out with that then. I won't be having a Gryffindor for a best friend.” Harry laughed,

“Alright then, now let's hurry up, before we lose him!” Draco snorted and shrugged his shoulders as he followed Harry through the crowds of people towards his Godfather.

“He's heading for the third floor,” Harry said when they'd spotted him again, but Malfoy didn't seem to be listening as he said,

“Ugh, what is that stench!? It's putrid!” Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet that that no one seems to clean. Then they heard it, a low grunting, and the shuffling of gigantic feet. At the end of the passage to the left, something huge was moving towards them. They shrunk into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. It was a horrible sight, the description in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hadn't done it justice at all... Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray (meaning that this was a mountain troll, the most dangerous kind), its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet.

The smell coming from it was incredible, and it was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long. The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside.  It paused for a moment, then making up its tiny mind, slouched slowly into the room.

“The keys in the lock,” Harry muttered. “We could lock it in.” Draco nodded, clearly unable to speak.  The troll was better locked in the room than able to come out again and come after them. “Keep an eye on Snape.” Harry told Draco, who looked relieved that he wasn't being asked to help lock the troll in.  Harry edged towards the open door, mouth dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. He knew that he could defend himself to some extent with his magic, but he didn't think that it would be enough against such a tall, strong creature. With a great leap, Harry grabbed the key, slammed the door shut and locked it. He breathed a sigh of relief as he headed back towards Draco and continued to follow Snape.  They laughed a little nervously when they heard the troll give a mighty roar when it realized that it had been locked in.

They followed Snape to the the third floor, at a good distance though so he wouldn't spot them. He seemed very determined in whatever he was doing, so he hadn't noticed them following him yet.

“What's Quirrell doing here?” Draco whispered in Harry's ear, and indeed, there was Quirrell, standing slightly outside of the doorway of the forbidden third floor corridor with an odd look on his face.  He wasn't twitching at all, just standing there, staring at whatever was in the corridor.  Harry immediately grabbed Draco's wrist and pulled them both behind a statue to hide.  Snape didn't exactly like him, but he also didn't seem to outright hate him like he had before.  In fact, in class Snape paid him absolutely no mind and just treated him like any other student.  Though Harry was sure that Snape did his very best to avoid looking into his eyes, although he wasn't sure why.  Even still, he didn't think that Snape would be very pleased that he and his Godson had followed him.

“S-S-Severus!” Quirrell said when he noticed Snape coming towards him, “I-I, w-what are y-you doing h-here?”

“I could ask you the same question, Quirinus.” Snape drawled at the man who was now twitching like he usually did. “I could also ask you why you are standing in front of the third floor corridor while the rest of the teachers are chasing after _your_ troll.”

Draco and Harry looked at each other with wide eyes, _his_ troll?!

“I-I don't kn-know w-what you m-mean, S-Severus–”

“You know _exactly_ what I mean, Quirinus.  I am perfectly aware of what your challenge is, the possibility of there being another troll in this school is slim to none.  Not to mention the fact that you were the one to deliver the message.  Even an imbecile could have figured it out.  And considering where you are currently standing, I find it safe to assume exactly what you are after.”

“N-no, S-S-Severus, y-you h-have it all wr-wrong! I-I was m-merely c-curious! Y-y-you can't b-blame me f-for that. I-I was a R-R-Ravenc-claw a-afterall.” Snape hummed in response.

“Yes, I may be tempted to believe you, if you were here at any other time.  The last I saw you, you were fainted on the floor of the Great Hall after having alerted the Headmaster to the presence of a troll in the dungeons.  A troll, which both the Headmaster and I know belongs to you.  Curiosity?  Maybe at another time, but after creating such a spectacular diversion? Extremely doubtful.  Now, I suggest you confess the truth Quirinus, and be sure that the Headmaster will be hearing about this.”

“A-aren't y-you c-curious as well, Severus..? W-wouldn't you l-like to see w-what the H-Headm-master has g-guarding s-such a p-precious object? Come.” then Quirrell grabbed Snape's wrist and pulled him into the corridor.  Suddenly, without either of them touching the door, it slammed shut, Quirrell stumbled backwards and landed on the ground while Snape was trapped inside. “S-S-S-Severus!!” Quirrell shouted, “Th-th-the d-door s-seems t-to h-have s-slamed sh-shut o-of its o-own a-accord! I-it's l-l-locked! I-I-I'll g-go f-fetch h-help!” then the man took off in the direction that they had come. Harry and Draco both immediately rushed forward,

“Alohamora!” Harry said, wand pointed at the lock, which clicked and the door swung open.  For a moment, Harry thought that he had walked into a nightmare, but he'd never had a nightmare quite like this (though he was sure that he would now).  Before the two eleven years olds was a truly monstrous dog, it filled the whole space between the ceiling and floor, it had three heads, three pairs of rolling, mad eyes, three noses, three drooling mouths with saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.  And currently what those mouths were trying to do was take a bite out of their Potion's Professor.  He was putting up a good fight, his wand whipping this way and that, sending spell after spell at the dog.  But he didn't seem to be paying as much attention as he should to the head on the left, too busy with the one on the right and in the middle. The dog's enormous face lunged at him, mouth opened wide, heading towards his left leg.

“SEV!!!” Draco shouted frantically as Harry did something both very brave and very foolish.  He ran straight towards Snape, putting himself between the dog's left head and the man's left leg, tackling Snape to the ground.  He flinched greatly when the dog's large jaws closed around his back, painfully sinking in, before just as painfully retracting.  Though it had been months since he had experienced any, he was used to far worse pain than that and didn't make a sound, the sharp, sudden pain being nothing compared to what he had become accustomed to on a daily basis all of his life...  Adrenaline and magic was coursing through his body as he pulled his professor up off the ground and quickly pulled both him and Draco out the door, just as the dog turned towards the blond at his shout of his Godfather's nickname.

Harry pulled them out and slammed the door shut, hearing it lock behind them.  He fell to his knees and grimaced as the adrenaline wore off and the pain of the bite came over him.

“Harry!” Draco yelled frantically. “Don't die, don't die, please don't die! Sev! Sev, help him! It bit him!”

“Foolish boy!” Snape yelled, but Harry could hear the pure worry in his voice and feel it in his magic. Harry took a deep steadying breath before he stood up,

“I'm fine.” he said in the calmest voice he could manage. He could already feel his magic beginning to heal the wound, but it was quite deep and would likely take a while.  Also, it wasn't life threatening so his magic wasn't putting all of its power into healing him, like it had when he had actually died. 

“No, you are not fine!” Snape practically yelled at him, “What were you thinking, running in between like that?!”

“Wasn't thinking,” Harry said as he winced, “Just did.” Draco looked quite lost and his eyes were wide and showing more emotions than he had ever seen from the Malfoy heir before.

“That is a Gryffindor statement if I have ever heard one!  Next time think about what you're doing.  I am a much older, much bigger, much more powerful wizard than yourself and that blasted dog was only headed for my leg.  Now let me take a look at that injury, it needs to be disinfected and healed.” Harry shook his head and took a step back, gritting his teeth at the shot of pain that raced through his entire body at the movement.

“Doesn't need healed.” he managed to get out. “But maybe, disinfected.”

“Of course it needs healed you foolish, stupid boy!” Harry shook his head and came to the conclusion that he would have to tell the man a bit of the truth. He already knew about the Dursley's abuse anyway, not the the extent of course, but he did know about it.  His only concern was Draco, but he figured that the blond was trustworthy enough to tell.

“My... my magic can heal this just fine.” he said, “It'll only take a few hours.  I've had worse.” at that statement, he felt shock and anger course through the others' magics.

“Worse?!” Draco demanded, “What do you mean worse?! That dog looked like it bit straight through you!”

“Yes, Mr. Potter.” Snape drawled, anger coating every word and Harry knew who it was directed at, “You mentioned... some things, during our meeting, but you never said it was to such an extent.” he shrugged at them, but immediately regretted it as pain once again shot through him, bringing him to his knees. Snape then conjured a stretcher like he had during their first Potions class, only this time it was only one, and he levitated Harry onto it, laying him on his front so as not to injure his back further. “If it is true what you say, then I believe it best if we go to my office. However, that is in the dungeons and as there is still a troll running around–”

“There's isn't,” Draco said, “We came across it while we were following you and Harry locked it in the girl's bathroom. It wasn't even in the dungeons.”

“Ah.” Snape said, “And why, pray tell, were you following me?” Draco looked at a loss for words, so Harry helped him out,  
“Saw you weren't going with the other teachers. Curious. I decided to follow you. Draco saw me leave, decided to come with. Entirely my idea.” Snape turned to Draco and the blond nodded in agreement.

“Well then... five points from each of you for not following instructions and Mr. Potter, another ten from you for putting yourself into danger and acting like an impulsive Gryffindor. Twice.” Draco and Harry groaned, “Don't make such vulgar sounds, you know that you deserve it. Putting yourselves purposefully into danger is not what a Slytherin does. You had both better get those twenty points back, Ravenclaw is currently in the lead for the cup and I would like to keep it in my office, it has made a nice home there for the last seven years and I don't intend to give it up.”

“Yes, Sir.” they answered.

*

When they got to Snape's office, the man disinfected his wound and marveled at the green glow that the boy's magic was creating around it.  The disinfecting had been painful, but when it was done, Harry thanked the man, his magic was now able to heal the wound much better and it would be done much sooner.  Snape also gave him a pain numbing potion, he thanked him even more for that.  Then both the professor and his friend began questioning him about what he had said.  He tried to evade the questions, but eventually he had given them a mostly true explanation that Snape had already pretty much heard.

He told them that his relatives hated magic and therefore hated him.  Whenever he would do something that they didn't like or failed to do something they wanted or especially when he did accidental magic, his uncle would beat him.  He shrugged it off like it was nothing, even though it really wasn't.  The memories of those beatings tortured him in his sleep every night and made him quite jumpy to physical contact, though he tried to hide his reactions behind his mental shields, the occasional flinch would often make it through.  He tried to pretend like he didn't have a problem, tried to act normal.  But he knew that he did.  It had been four months since his last beating and two since he had even seen the Dursleys, and yet he was still having nightmares...  He didn't tell that to Snape and Draco though.  He didn't need their pity.

By the end of his explanation he could tell that the two other Slytherins were feeling rather murderous, but he asked them not to tell anyone. Eventually they reluctantly agreed.  After about an hour and a half, Snape asked to inspect his injury again and was absolutely shocked to see that the injury looked days if not weeks old!  At hearing that, the boy asked if he and his Godson could leave as they would be celebrating Samhain with their friends (Snape already knew about this as they had gone to ask him for a couple things).  After a bit of arguing, Snape agreed but made sure that Harry agreed to see him during lunch the next day after Potions.  He agreed and then the two boys quickly left Snape's office and made their way to the Study Room for their Samhain ceremony.

“Flying maned-serpents of Samhain.” Harry spoke to the door and it opened for them.  They were quite surprised to see the rest of the Study Group already in there, Harry had thought that they would have to collect at least a few people, but Hermione, Neville, Fred, George and Lisa were all already there.  Before Harry could react, Hermione had thrown herself at him in a hug and demanded to know where he had been.  Harry flinched and, a little breathless from the shock of sudden contact, he began to explain what had happened, with the help of Draco, leaving out of course the fact that Harry had been bitten and the bite was now miraculously healed.  Harry didn't really mind if his friends knew about his healing abilities, but he didn't want them to know that he had been bitten in the first place.

Draco told Harry and the group that apparently there had been a trap-door underneath the three-headed dog that Harry hadn't noticed, Draco also informed them that the three-headed dog was called a Cerebus.  Often confused for the Cerberus, though while they are closely related, are not the same beast.  Apparently the Cerberus was at least three times bigger than that dog had been, has a mane of snakes, lion's claws and a serpent's tail.  Their saliva is also incredibly deadly, which, although it has no effect on human flesh, will burn away at the soul.  But the beast in the corridor was a Cerebus, a close cousin of the far more monstrous dog, though it too is also quite dangerous as well, as would be any other dog of that size, with three heads.  There have only been a handful of documented cases of Cerberus sightings, and while the Cerebus is not quite as rare, it is still very rare as well and quite hard to come by.

For about an hour the group discussed what could possibly be hidden under there.  Why was is so valuable to be protected by a Cerebus, and yet was currently in a school?  They also discussed why the ever nervous Quirrell had wanted it.  None of them believed for a second that Quirrell was just there because he was curious (except Hermione that is, who refused to believe that a teacher would do such a thing), especially if Snape was right and it had been his troll that Harry had locked up in the girl's bathroom.

Fred and George jokingly suggested that maybe it was the Fountain of Youth and Quirrell wanted to find it to fix the bald spot that he was covering up with his turban.  They'd laughed at that before going back to thinking about it.  Maybe it was a weapon?  Or some really powerful magical artifact? Or something really, really valuable? Or maybe it was an entire room full of valuable or dangerous things?  Whatever it was, it was interesting and the Study Group was determined to find out what it was.  But, for now, it was Samhain and they had quite a few things planned.

The walls, instead of being the usual six colours of the three houses that inhabited this room, were instead decorated in the colours of Samhain: black, orange, white, silver, and gold.  Draco had asked his Godfather for quite a few things for Samhain, many of which were ingredients for their cleansing incense.  All seven of them picked up a smudge stick from the alter that they had made, the smudge sticks were made out of white sage (to cleanse the room of any negative energies), mug-wort (which is a subspecies of wormwood, used for protection and to create an atmosphere of calmness, and help with focusing on their magical auras), heliotrope (to help in cleansing themselves and banishing their weaknesses) and nutmeg (not enough to induce an altered state of consciousness, but enough to create a pleasant scent as well as to promote spiritual healing and help them to focus on their magical cores).  They lit their smudge sticks with their wands (Hermione had to help Neville with his) and then they all picked up their wafting feathers and began wafting the smoke around the room. When they had finished this, they placed their smudge sticks down in something akin to a large ashtray and let them continue to burn as they inhaled the calming scent of burning herbs.

After this, they began the ceremony to honor the dead, as that is a very big part of what Samhain is about.  The day before, they had all worked together to gather as many fallen leaves as possible from out in the Hogwarts grounds.  And they had to be fallen leaves, not taken from off of the trees.  This is because each of those leaves would represent someone who had died, or _fallen_ from this life, through the veil and into the next.  They had then written the names of all of their loved ones, whose lives and deaths they wished to honor, on the leaves.  One by one they each stood up and laid their leaves on the alter name-down after saying who they were, how they died and sometimes something about them, though that wasn't necessary.

Harry went first, he placed down two leaves, one for each of his parents who had been killed by Voldemort. Their deaths, especially his mother's were the sacrifices that had ended the Great Wizarding War.  After him, Hermione went up, she placed down three leaves, one for each of her grandparents who had died.  Her father's father had served and died in World War II, her father's mother seemed to have died in an accident, however it was shortly after her husband's death so many in their family believed it to be suicide.  They didn't begrudge her this though, the two had truly been in love and his death had been difficult on her, had she lived it wouldn't have been much of a life.  And her mother's mother who had just recently died of heart failure.

After Hermione, Lisa went up and placed down one leaf for her grandmother on her mother's side, Elixa Selwyn who had died during the Great Wizarding War.  After her, Neville went up and laid down three leaves, the first for his Gran's husband Trevor Longbottom, the grandfather that Neville had seen die when he was six, the next two were for his mother's parents Alexander and Philip Selwyn.  They had then had a short conversation about the fact that two wizards and two witches can have kids and that it was perfectly acceptable in the wizarding world to be 'bent' or 'flexible' as it was called.  Harry, Hermione and Lisa were amazed by this and Hermione voiced that she wished that muggles were the same way, prejudice was stupid in any form, especially when it came to who someone loved, you can't help who you fall in love with, after all. Her parents were always very adamantly liberal and had raised her to be the same.

They had then brought up the fact that Lisa's grandmother and Neville's grandfathers had the same last name.  It turned out that Elixa Selwyn had married Alexander Selwyn's brother, Helios Selwyn, making their mothers first cousins.  After the conversation ended, Fred went up with half of his and George's leaves. One was for his mother's younger half-brother Gideon Prewett who had died in the wizarding war, one was for his father's younger brother Bilius Weasley who had apparently seen a Grim and died twenty-four hours later.  One was for Ignatius Prewett, their mother's late father, even though he had been a bastard and had disowned their mother when she had chosen to marry their father, he was still their grandfather and should be honored, and his last leaf was for Molly Prewett, their grandmother who had died in childbirth with their mother.

Next, George went up, one of his leaves was for their mother's other younger half-brother Fabian Prewett who had died in the wizarding war just like his brother, one was for their father's older brother Artemus Weasley who had died as an Auror shortly after the wizarding war, having been killed by a Death Eater he was trying to capture.  Two leaves were for Septimus and Cedrella Weasley, his father's parents; Septimus had been the one to teach all of the Weasley children how to play chess, when he found that their younger brother Ron was the best at the game and enjoyed it the most, he had given him his chess set.  The last three leaves didn't have names on them, he said that they were for their siblings who had died before they could be born.  Charlie and Percy Weasley were six years apart in age.  This was because during those six years their parents had had three miscarriages, and when they'd finally had Percy, he was their miracle child who had finally survived, so he had ended up a little bit spoiled in his early years.

After George, it was finally Draco's turn.  He put down a leaf for each of his grandfathers, Abraxas Malfoy and Cygnus Black, one for his grandmother Zahara Malfoy.  He put down many more for different relatives that had lived so long ago that there was no way that Draco ever could have met them, but Harry supposed that it was tradition for his family to include them.  And then finally one leaf that he refused to tell them who it was for, they all respected that, but as he placed it down on the alter, Harry saw the letters 'DLV'  ...that couldn't mean who he thought it meant, could it? Marvolo's cold laughter in his head proved him right.  Harry felt half touched, half horrified that Draco had put that leaf down, part of him wanted to laugh as well because the person wasn't even dead, not really.  But then he felt quite upset because he remembered what Marvolo had said to him earlier.  He then fervently refused to think about him and shut him out so that he could no longer hear his continued maniacal laughter.

After they had finished putting down their leaves, they all put on their pointed hats which they had each purchased per their supply lists, although no one really wore pointed hats anymore, at least not the younger generation. They then sat in a circle, holding hands.  They focused on their own magical cores and auras and the magic of the castle and world around them.  They closed their eyes and did their best to imagine the magic of the castle and the world coming into them through the point of their hats, cleansing inside of them and then back out into the world in all directions through the circular rim.  Not many witches and wizards know this anymore, but this practice is the true purpose of the pointed hat.  And as they were all eleven, twelve and thirteen year olds, their magics were not yet mature enough nor under their control enough to truly perform the cleansing ritual.  However, Harry was capable of doing it perfectly and as he did it and let his magic loose from its confines, his friends were overwhelmed by the feeling of it.

They all opened their eyes to find Harry surrounded by beautiful, misty, green magic that matched his eyes. Their magics called out to his and felt attracted to the pure magical power that was exuding from the boy in from of them.  It was then that they all knew, in their very souls, why they were there; in this room, in this life, the one thing that was tying them all together was this boy and his incredible magic.  They knew, right then and there, that they would follow him anywhere.  Following the example of the powerful magic, their own magics instinctively performed the cleansing ritual; had Harry not been there then they undoubtedly would not have been able to achieve this.  But because he was there to lead them, to show them his own perfect example, they all managed to perform it.

After they had all finished the cleansing ritual, they felt significantly light-headed, both from the ritual and from the burning herbs.  They felt refreshed and renewed, and now it was time for the final ceremony of the night.  Professor Snape had lent them his burning bowl after they had all promised that they would only use it for its intended purpose.  Samhain was a time for honoring the dead and reflecting on the past, but it was also a time to look ahead to the new year to come, to renew their energies and to rid themselves of their weaknesses.  They all took a piece of the special burning paper and wrote what they believed to be their biggest weakness on it, none of them were required to share what their weaknesses were.  That was between them and the goddess of magic, Hecate.  Then they placed their folded papers into the burning bowl, and as they watched the fire consume them, they let that weakness itself die along with the paper.

When there was nothing left but ashes, they put them into a box, along with all of the leaves on the alter that represented their loved ones and then left the castle to bury the box deep in the ground near the forbidden forest. This was to symbolize that their weaknesses are no more, and that while they respected and honoured the dead, they are no longer a part of the living and should be left in the past.  Life goes on, and it is better to let go and merely cherish the memories, than hold on too tightly to someone who has died, never letting them truly rest in peace on the other side of the veil.  After the box was buried, they knelt on the damp ground and said a prayer to the many gods and goddesses that they were respecting and honoring that night.

When they were finished, they all headed off to their respective dormitories and slept very, very well that night.  Even Harry, who had expected nightmares about the Cerebus to haunt him, slept soundly for the first time in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :) so, I'm back, and so is this story :) The last couple months of my life have just been really stressful and I just haven't have the time or, more importantly, the motivation to post chapters. Hopefully I'll get back into posting regularly again, but if I don't, then I apologize. So, onto talking about the chapter. I hinted last chapter that something was going on with Marvolo, and that lead to the beginning of this chapter and the fight between Harry and Marvolo. Now, I'm not going to say how long it will be until things are normal between them again, but I will tell you that it will be a while before they are back to normal, unfortunately. But, now Harry has a new ambition! To give Marvolo a body, even if it means he never sees Marvolo again or that he DIES. Well, we'll see how well THAT turns out.
> 
> Then, there was the Troll incident, as all of you hopefully realized, due to the fact that Hermione actually has friends in this story, she did _not_ end up in the bathroom with the troll. Giving Harry no reason to go back into the bathroom and fight the troll after he had already locked it in. After that was the scene with Quirrell and Snape. I hope that you all enjoyed my version of what happened between Snape and Quirrell on the third floor. As for what happened with the dog, it must be remembered that the harry in the story grew up very differently to canon Harry. He is used to pain, he had to live with it in some form almost everyday of his young life for as long as he can remember. This has made him a bit more mature than canon Harry as hardships breed maturity, and he is also more mentally damaged and cynical. Also, the dog's bite is nothing compared to that, but of course it still hurts so he can't move for a bit during the healing process.
> 
> Now, I realize that still having the Samhain ceremony at the end of the chapter after all of the exciting things that already happened, made the chapter much longer than usual, but I felt that it was necessary as this is the Samhain chapter, so all of the stuff that happened on this day should be in this chapter. As for the rituals that were used, I did a lot of research on this and found actual rituals that people use to celebrate Samhain nowadays (as the old rituals wouldn't really fit as they were all about the harvest and such) and then I tweaked them a bit in order to be compatible with Harry Potter Magic. Now, if I offended anyone then I apologize, feel free to complain at me down in the comments, I've never actually celebrated Samhain or any of the other Holidays. I am going off of my research alone. 
> 
> Also, there may be some confusion about the Weasley miscarriages mentioned between the births of Charlie and Percy Weasley. In this story, I have Percy and Charlie 6 years apart in age, (My reasons for this age gap can be found here: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/essays/essay-weasley-ages.html. If Charlie was such a good Quidditch player, then why did they lose for the last 7 years?) and in order to account for this time, I have said that Molly had a few miscarriages. It would also explain why Percy is so different from the others. His upbringing was entirely different as he was a miracle child after many miscarriages, completely spoiled rotten. But then was pushed to the side when more children came along, forcing him to strive to receive the same praise and attention he had previously received from his parents. It also gives an explanation as to why Percy dislikes his younger brothers (especially the twins) so much.
> 
> Speaking of the twins, I hope you liked their guess of what could be under the trap door: 'maybe it was the Fountain of Youth and Quirrell wanted to find it to fix the bald spot that he was covering up with his turban', they were pretty close there, weren't they? :) Also, any theories on what each of the Study Groups' greatest weaknesses (according to themselves) were?? Leave your guesses in the comments, but I won't tell you if it's right or not :P Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) If you have any further comments or questions, then leave them in the comments section bellow and I'll make sure I answer them. Also, next chapter will not be about the study group. I didn't think that it would be right to follow such an epic and exciting chapter with a normal chapter. So the next chapter will be about Dumbledore and his past with Grindlewald! I hope you all look forward to it and I will make sure that I post it soon. Thanks for reading and sorry again for the wait.


	19. A Tale of Love, Loss and Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon killed Harry, he met his mother and Marvolo, who taught him the basics of wandless magic among other things, but now he is not talking to him because Harry has become too attached to him and that makes him uncomfortable. Harry is friends with Draco, Hermione, Neville, Fred and George Weasley, and Lisa Turpin; a shy, mysterious Ravenclaw girl who is Hermione's roommate and doesn't have any other friends. The other Slytherins don't like Harry and generally avoid him. People wonder if Harry will go dark, Ron Weasley hates him and Harry has just recently decided that he wants to get Marvolo a body in order to make him happy, even if it means that he disposes of Harry afterwards. Harry and his friends hang out in an empty classroom that they call the Study Room. During the Troll incident on Halloween, Harry and Draco followed Snape and witnessed the argument between Snape and Quirrell which resulted in Snape being mysteriously locked in with the Cerebus. Harry jumped in the way, got bit and ended up revealing part of his past. The Study Group Celebrated Samhain for the first time and Harry's friends have begun to see Harry as more than just a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains torture, mild sexual references, war, politics, prejudice, sympathy for not-so-nice people, manipulation, death, murder, addiction, mentions of mental illness, World War II, the Holocaust, extreme loneliness, Dark Magic, and a really long backstory.
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words._

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had lived for a very long time, seen many things, known many people.  He had started school when he was eleven in the year 1892, been sorted into Gryffindor (though Alistair, as he now knew him to be called, had also considered him for both Slytherin and Ravenclaw) and passed all of his classes with flying colours.  He was Gryffindor's Prefect and then Head Boy.  He had won the Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting during his N.E.W.T.s and had become a 'British Youth Representative to the Wizengamot' while still in school.  

Then, during the summer after his final year at Hogwarts, he had met another intelligent and extraordinary young man named Gellert Grindelwald, and what a whirlwind that had been.  He had never felt any sort of romantic inclinations towards anyone before that.  Of course, he could appreciate the bodies of young, fit wizards, but he had never felt so inclined to ever have a relationship, or even just sex for that matter.  He simply did not see it worth his time to pursue such things, when instead he could be trying to solve the supposedly unsolvable problems of the Wizarding World, or complete complicated alchemical equations.  One such example was Albus’ fascination in the Philosopher's Stone and how to create one.  This had been a fun and exciting conquest, which had eventually lead to him meeting the only man who had ever actually managed it.

Albus had never been interested in the Stone's properties himself, rather he was just trying to make one for the challenge of it.  Unfortunately, Albus had then needed to explain this to one Nicolas Flamel while hanging upside-down in the man's torture chamber with half a dozen hot pokers sticking out of him; truly an interesting experience.  Especially when his wife, Pernelle, had walked in on them and accused Nicolas of cheating on her with him.  One could make several assumptions about their relationship from that statement when paired with the scene she had happened upon being one of torture, and not love-making.  He chuckled to himself at the memory of it, of course, it had been very painful and unpleasant at the time, but decades in between seemed to dull the pain from the memory, leaving only the ridiculousness and hilarity.  

Oh dear, his thoughts have seemed to have gotten off track from where they had previously been.  At Albus’ age, it was so easy to get lost in memories, hence the reason for his pensieve, though many others fear such an object, Albus found that it is really quite helpful to clear one’s mind and sift through one’s own thoughts, especially in a mind such as his own.  Not to mention the certain entertainment factors which it could provide the user, Albus had certainly viewed that very scene with Nicolas and his wife many times, just for his own amusement.  

Where had his thoughts been before he had lost their train?  Oh yes, he had been thinking of Gellert Grindelwald.  Albus had met him shortly before his 18th birthday, and by Merlin, he had never met another wizard like him.  He may have been two years younger than him, but he never would have guessed it had he not been told; Albus had always felt like the younger one, always trailing after him and trying to be like him.  Gellert was clever, cunning, ambitious, sly, wicked, incredibly sarcastic, slightly sadistic, indescribably powerful; everything that Albus had detested about Slytherins while he had been in Hogwarts, and yet everything that he was drawn to, attracted to about Gellert.  The man was amazing, like a living flame.  But like any other flame, it was nice to look at (and he really had been nice to look at) but get too close, and you will get burned.

Albus had been drawn like a moth to Gellert's beautiful flame, in just two months (though it had seemed like so much longer than that) they had become friends, comrades, partners in their plans for the greater good, and then eventually, lovers.  The feel of Gellert's skin, his hands, it was more exquisite than any bit of knowledge that he could possibly hope to obtain.  He lived up to the traits of his house and fell for the man impulsively and fast.  He was soon swept up in a whirlwind of emotions and plans.  He would do anything for Gellert, absolutely anything.  He loved him.  He never told him that though, never spoke that one word, afraid that if he did, then Gellert would leave him.  He had been afraid to be told that the man didn't feel the same.

Gellert was attracted to him, lusted for him, that he knew all too well.  But a feeling such as love?  Could Gellert even feel such a thing?  Albus did not want to scare him away with such intense feelings if the man was not capable of them himself.  But alas, despite never speaking his heart's true feelings, it still all came crashing down around him.  A mere two months after their first meeting, one of the worst days of his very long life occurred.  At his age now, Albus could not remember what exactly had started the argument which had led the duel that had ended in his sister's death (and he refused to watch the memory in his pensieve, afraid that he would see who it was that had truly cast the spell that had killed her).  

All that Albus remembered was that his younger brother Aberforth had been shouting at him, reprimanding him for not being there for his little sister, like he had many a time before.  But this particular time, Gellert, his lover, had seen the conflict and became enraged and defended Albus’ actions.  It had started as a mere argument, but then Gellert had drawn his wand, and Aberforth soon followed.  They began to duel, and Albus, in his attempt to stop them from fighting, had inadvertently joined the duel himself.  Albus tried his best to protect both of them from the other, while at the same time being forced to used some of the darker spells that Gellert had taught him in order to prevent the three of them, as well as his mentally unstable sister (who had wandered into the room when she had heard Aberforth shouting at Albus) from being hit.

Albus soon found himself lost in the duel, he began to not care that he was facing his younger brother and his lover, he began to not care that Ariana was in the room, standing off to the side.  The sickeningly sweet feeling of the Dark Magic was overcoming him, and soon he was casting not only defensive spells, but offensive ones as well.  It was a three-way duel between the three of them; he and Gellert were obviously more powerful and more skilled than his younger brother, but Aberforth was small, tricky and sly; very good at evading the powerful hexes and curses that were being sent his way.  Albus had been quite lost in the addicting rush that Dark Magic provided, when he had heard the scream.  A piercing, blood-curdling scream permeated the room, and then his little sister crumpled to the floor, dead…  No one knew who had cast the stray curse which had hit her, it could have been any one of them.  However, one thing that was for sure was that all three of them were to blame.

Gellert had fled, Aberforth had blamed Albus, and Albus himself did not know what to do.  He was disgusted with himself, what if he had been the one to kill her?  Aberforth certainly seemed to think so, he had even said that even if it wasn't him, that he was still to blame for bringing Gellert into their lives.  Albus’ whole life had been flipped upside-down and everyone who meant anything to him was gone, in one way or another, from his life.  After that point Albus had attempted to quit Dark Magic.  It was clear to him that his addiction had gone too far.  It was difficult, and he was not able to be there for his grieving brother, like he knew that he should have been.  He threw himself into studying alchemy, particularly how to create the Philosopher's Stone, just to give his mind something to do.  

During Ariana's funeral, Aberforth broke his nose and Albus did not have it in himself to repair it with magic, because he knew that he had deserved it.  He did not feel welcome in his own home anymore.  He threw himself even further into his quest to create the stone.  Then Nicolas Flamel discovered his attempts at creating the stone and kidnapped him, tortured him.  Albus had refused to defend himself with Dark Magic, even when he had been on the brink of death, caused by a man he had never even met before.  The situation of Pernelle walking in was still terribly hilarious to Albus after many years passed, but whenever he recalled the memory to himself he made a point to not think of the extenuating circumstances surrounding the scene.  

However, not killing Nicolas with Dark Magic had ended up working out for the best of course, he had become quite good friends with Nicolas and Pernelle, he even stayed with them for a while, working with the legendary man himself.  Nicolas had a mind like no other, he had lived for so long, seen so many things...  But then, after a few years, he had gone back to Godric's Hollow.  Back to his old life.  Back to his broken, grieving brother and his dead sister.  After getting away from it all for so long, he just couldn't take it.  He had relapsed.  He started using Dark Magic again, he had sought out Gellert once more.  The man had welcomed him back with open arms and a warm bed.  For years, he lived in complete and utter blissful denial.  He knew what Gellert was, he knew what he was trying to do, and at the time, Albus didn't see a single thing wrong with it.

They were equals, he and Gellert; in power, in intelligence, in ambition.  They planned the fall of the Ministries.  They planned to find the Deathly Hallows that would make them the Masters of Death; which they took to mean invincible, unstoppable.  They planned the takeover of the Wizarding and Muggle Worlds.  They planned the supremacy of Witches and Wizards over muggles.  After all, they had been granted with the gift of magic, they were more powerful, why should they be forced to hide in the shadows?  The muggles were like children, helpless on their own.  They destroy each other needlessly constantly, they needed the guiding hand of witches and wizards to show them how to live.  Muggles inherently feared magic and sought to destroy it, because they knew that wizards were their betters.  The whole world would run so much more smoothly if those who had power were on top, and those without worked peacefully under them.  It was simply the natural order of things.

Albus and Gellert had never hated the muggles, despite the plentiful reasons they had to do so.  They thought that what they were trying to do would help them in the long run.  Of course, they would rebel against it initially, as is human nature; but once the dust settled and they admitted their own inevitable defeat, they would be happier.  This was the Greater Good, for both muggles and magicals.  Witches and Wizards wouldn't be forced into hiding anymore, and they would be saving the muggles from themselves.  Albus and Gellert would be the perfect leaders for this new, better world; they were smart, wise, powerful, ambitious, they thought they knew everything in their late twenties.  They thought they knew how the world ought to be, and they were going to make it that way, even if they had to force it.  Albus thought that it would be easy, it had seemed easy, when they had discussed it.  But oh, how wrong he was…

They were gaining followers, and fast.  Gellert had called them 'Reapers', as he and Albus would one day become the Masters of Death.  Albus tries to blame Gellert now, blame him for filling his mind with ideas and plans, blame him for introducing him to Dark Magic, making him addicted to it.  He tries to make himself believe that his own feelings for Gellert blinded him from the truth, that he was more a victim than anything.  He tries to tell himself that he is completely blameless, that he was mere putty in Gellert's beautiful hands, and that was why he did the things that he did.  That he is more to be pitied than to be blamed.  That he was right in what he eventually did.  He tries to blame his decision to leave Gellert, his decision to defeat him, on the Dark Lord Grindelwald himself.  

However, despite how much he tries, deep inside, he cannot lie to himself.  He was never blind to what Gellert – what they, together, were doing, he knew full well the implications of the plans that they were making, he was fully involved in making them in the first place.  He had even come up with many of them himself.  Gellert may have introduced him to the Dark Arts, but Albus was the one who was too mentally weak to control them, instead the magic controlled him.  He had gone back to Gellert, entirely of his own free will.  When they had begun to set their plans in motion, Albus had tortured people, often innocent people, of his own free will.  And he had enjoyed it.  Immensely.  Gellert had never forced his hand in anything, he was entirely open to suggestions from Albus, because he had thought they were on the same page.  

Albus had thought that achieving their plans would be easy, but it was not in the slightest.  Albus began to have doubts when he realized just how many people he would have to hurt in order to achieve their goals.  When he realized just how much the Dark Magic had begun to consume him and utterly control his life.  When he realized just how many terrible things had to be done for the Greater Good.  Albus slowly began to realize just what he had become.  He slowly began to realize just how very wrong their 'greater good' was, in its very essence.  Just how many people that he had to hurt, that he had already hurt for such a twisted cause.  He was young, barely even in his thirties, he couldn’t deal with the guilt anymore.  

He felt disgusted with himself, and with what he was doing.  He would watch Gellert torture some poor innocent soul and the thrill that he used to get while watching him was gone, replaced by disgust.  Disgust for both himself and for the man that he loved.  He hated what his life had become, he did not want to live like this anymore.  All the torture, the murder (though he was never the one to commit it, if he could avoid it, but occasionally he would kill people accidentally in a bout of euphoria caused by the Dark Magic), he would always leave the killing to Gellert, though he was just as much to blame for the deaths.  Albus just couldn't take it anymore.  He had to use more and more Dark Magic in order to feel the same thrill that he had before.  He had to use Darker and Darker curses in order to ignore the bile that threatened to rise up in his throat when he forced someone's insides to their outsides.  

Then, one day, the person he had to torture was a young girl; a young girl that looked so innocent and sweet.  Gellert said that she was the German Minister's daughter, and they were going to torture her to force him to give into their demands.  Albus understood completely why it was necessary.  The German Minister was currently creating a very large army of creatures to hunt and kill them and their Reapers, he needed to be dealt with, and quickly.  But then, he had looked into the face of the young girl, and she had looked so much like Ariana that Albus could not bare to harm her.  All of the guilt that he had run away from that day, all of those years ago, came rushing back.  Everything that had been building up inside of him for so very long, all of the things that he had never told Gellert, they all came bubbling up to the surface.  But he did not yell or lecture Gellert, or tell him that what he was doing was wrong, instead he merely said very softly that he could not do this anymore.  That it was too much.

He had run.  He had run away from Gellert, deserted him in the middle of their plans.  He had come back to Britain, gotten himself a teaching job at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and attempted to once again bury himself in work.  He was weak.  He knew that he was.  All the magical power in the world could not change that fact.  He could not control his own magic, he could not handle what needed to be done to achieve his and Gellert's goals.  He was even too weak to tell Gellert how he felt, about their plans and about the man himself.  He thought that he knew what he wanted.  Thought that he knew how the world ought to be, but when faced with actually doing what needed to be done in order to achieve those goals, he had run and deserted his lover in the middle of a blooming war.

Gellert could not do anything to him while he was at Hogwarts, could not touch him, could not talk to him.  He could have sent him owls, but he didn’t.  Albus still did not know if he was happy or upset about the fact that he never did.  But he could not blame the man, he had betrayed him in the middle of a blooming war.  They were leading a revolution together, and without giving a satisfactory reason or even talking to Gellert much at all, Albus had left to a nice cushy teaching job, leaving Gellert to fight for their plans, their goals, all alone.  It was stressful to lead a war, Albus knew that, and he knew it even more now that he was doing it again and this time by himself, like Gellert had.  

At the time, Albus hadn't realized exactly what he had done, exactly what the implications of his actions would be.  Without Albus around to ground him, to steady him, to keep him company, Gellert had lost what little sanity and humanity that he possessed and gone mad with power; and grief.  Albus had not known this until much later, but his betrayal had hurt Gellert more than the man would ever admit.  They were supposed to rule together.  They were supposed to stick by each other's side through thick and thin.  Yes, Gellert had run away from him once, but he had thought that was what Albus would have wanted after the death of his sister, and Gellert had always been waiting, looking for any sign that Albus would want to come find him.  Not to mention the fact that at the time they had not been leading a war.  They had only been planning back then.  But Albus had fled somewhere that Gellert could never follow, and the man was too proud to ever do so and Albus knew it.

That betrayal had been Gellert's undoing, his emotions got the better of him, his need to hurt and torture and kill overrode his quest for the 'greater good'.  He helped a muggle man by the name of Adolf Hitler start the muggles' World War II.  He used the muggles' deaths in their 'concentration camps' to his own benefit, to become more powerful.  He used their bodies for rituals, their suffering as offerings and sacrifices to Magick.  He became more feared and loathed than he was respected, even by his own followers.  Gellert had not even been aware of what he was doing and how his plans were crumbling from the inside out due to his own temperament and hunger for power.  Without Albus there with him, Gellert did not know what 'going too far' was anymore.  He had no one to speak to, no equal partner to relate to, and it destroyed him.

Albus tried to ignore it.  For nearly two decades he ignored what his ex-lover was doing.  He had a life now, he realized that what he and Gellert were attempting to do was very wrong.  It was not right to enslave the muggles, it was not right to treat them differently simply because they were born without magic.  He realized that.  He learned his faults.  He completely quit the Dark Arts.  He put his past behind him.  He became a well-meaning, important member of society; even became a crucial part of the Wizengamot and the Supreme Mugwump.  But the carnage had escalated, it became less a political war that involved many 'mysterious disappearances' and more an all out physical war, complete with full out battles, raids, death and destruction.  Not to mention the whole muggle side of it which Gellert helped to instigate.  Albus knew that he had to act.

Despite the years apart; however, Albus was still deeply in love with Gellert, he could not bring himself to betray him any more than he already had...  Not to mention the fact that he knew that he could never completely defeat him without having to resort to Dark Magic.  He knew that to completely overpower him, he would have to.  That in the heat of the duel, if he was truly looking to kill the man, then he would use Dark Magic, without even thinking, as that would be his only option.  Especially given the fact that the man had managed to acquire the Elder wand.  But that would cause Albus to spiral back into his addiction, and he would likely become a Dark Lord even more terrifying, mad and power hungry than Gellert ever was.  So he knew that he could never kill the man himself...  Then, Albus had thought up a plan, a very good plan, one that only he could successfully achieve.

However, he had made a few very grievous miscalculations, and it had failed.  Not only had it failed, but it had completely blown up in Albus' face to such an extent that he was still dealing with the repercussions of it to this very day.  Eventually, he had completely given up on his plan and gone to face Gellert himself in 1945.  He knew that casting even one Dark spell would send him spiralling back into addiction, and his love for Gellert kept him from truly harming the man.  Instead, in his cowardice and weakness, he had locked the man up in his own prison, Nurmengard, where he is stripped of his magic and unable to escape.

He is still there to this day.  

Albus goes to visit him sometimes.  He regrets it every time he does, but every couple years he just cannot help going back.  Every time he goes there, he has to look into the gaunt, dying face of his ex-lover and know that he has done that to him.  Without access to his magic, Gellert has aged as a muggle would, and it is incredibly surprising that the man has managed to live this long.  He knows that Gellert's last days are approaching, and so does he.  And every time he goes, the man makes sure to remind Albus of that.  To remind him of how much he trusted him, and how much he was betrayed.  Out here, in Hogwarts, in Wizarding Britain, he can pretend to be the all-good leader of the Light, the Light Lord if you will, but when he goes to Nurmengard...  Gellert knows all of his secrets, all of his flaws, and he uses them to attack him.  To get his revenge for being locked up for the last 46 years, and Albus cannot blame him.

Sometimes when he goes, he'll find himself waking up in those age-ridden and yet somehow still sinfully beautiful (at least to him) arms and regrets everything that his life has become.  What if he had not run away?  What if he had just continued to fight towards the 'greater good' with Gellert?  What if he had trained himself endlessly and eventually mastered his addiction to Dark Magic, like Gellert had seemed to do so effortlessly, like lesser wizards seemed more capable of than he?  What if he had shared his feelings on the torture and the killing with Gellert and tried to convince him that there must be another way?  What if he had gone back to Gellert instead of attempting to defeat him from the shadows of a master a plan?  What if he had told his ex-lover of his recent realizations about the world and about muggles and maybe convinced him that their 'greater good' wasn't really the Greater Good?  What if he had not been such a weak, cowardly man and faced his demons when he should have?

There were so many things that he should have done differently, but at this point in his life, there was no point in dwelling on those things.  Only a fool dwells on the 'what if's', as no amount of dwelling or wondering will change the past or accomplish anything more than making said fool feel guilty for their choices and hate their current life.  Everyone has things about their past that they wish they can change, but the problem is, no one can change the past.  Albus simply must accept the life that he is currently leading and hope that he has learned from his past and that he will not come to regret his future decisions.  Yet, when he is lying in the arms of his ex-lover once again, he cannot help the foolish thoughts from entering his mind...  All he ever wants is to stay there forever, and forget about his problems, leave them all behind and just remain in blissful ignorance in the arms of the only man that he has ever, and at this point in his life, likely will ever, love…

However, if he does leave his life to stay in those arms, no one else will lead his current life for him.  He must live it, for no one else will.  Albus has lived for many, many years and he has seen what running away, what being weak, can do.  Now, he must be strong where others cannot be.  He is leading a war once again, this time he is truly fighting for the Greater Good, and he cannot simply run away again, not this time.  He must do what must be done for the true Greater Good, even if what he is doing is considered inherently wrong.  He has lived a long time and he knows that sometimes, sacrifices must be made in order to make things better for the vast majority of people.  The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.  And it just so happened that that 'one', was Harry Potter.

When Albus had received that letter from Mr. Potter three months ago, he had believed that although things had not gone exactly as planned, that it was alright.  That Harry would turn out exactly as he had planned.  He had believed that all of his plans were running smoothly, despite the slight hiccough and miscalculation on his part.  He had believed that, until the first of September and Harry Potter was sorted into Slytherin house.  He should have foreseen this.  He should have sent Hagrid immediately instead of playing with the letters.  Because the boy had no one to properly introduce him to the magical world, he had ended up in the snake's den.

In that moment, it had seemed that all of his plans had come crashing down.  Harry Potter was meant to be a Gryffindor; brave and noble and impulsive, capable of saving the Wizarding World from the clutches of Lord Voldemort when he returned.  In Slytherin, he would be taught to always watch out for himself, that self-preservation was more important than saving others.  He would be taught to believe in Pure-blood Supremacy.  He would be taught that the Dark Arts were okay, and he too would become obsessed with their allure.  That was not what he wanted the boy to be like.  He would not allow another failure to occur.  However, Alistair's sorting cannot be over-ruled, even by the Headmaster.  Harry Potter was a Slytherin, and they were all doomed…

Or, so he had thought, until two little first years had come running into the Great Hall after the Welcome Feast.  Hermione Granger, a muggleborn Ravenclaw and Neville Longbottom, the son of an inherently Light family (though his mother's heritage was a little questionable), a boy whose parents had been tortured into madness, a state worse than death.  A boy who would never join Lord Voldemort because he has more reason than anyone else to hate his followers, so he would never become one himself.  And he was a Gryffindor.  They were both friends with Harry Potter, the child of prophecy, and a Slytherin.  Albus had been quite pleased by that, but of course, he had thought that it could never last.  The three had become friends on the train, but then they had been sorted into different houses.

Albus had seen it happen time and time again, children meet and become friends on the train, but then they are sorted into different houses and they just drift apart.  Sometimes they do not drift, sometimes their friendships explode due to their new-found differences.  The longest lasting friendship that he had ever seen between between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin since he had set foot in this castle for the first time on the first of September in 1892, was between Severus Snape and Lily Evans, and that had been destroyed at the end of their fifth year.  But even making it to fifth year was quite a feat, even siblings tended to stop talking to each other when sorted into those rival houses.  Sirius and Regulus Black were an excellent example of that.

Perhaps Harry would continue to be friends with Ms. Granger, as she was a Ravenclaw, but Albus even saw that as unlikely due to his friendship with young Draco Malfoy.  The Malfoy family was well known for its hatred of all things muggle and their belief in Pure-blood Supremacy.  Not to mention the fact that it is much easier to maintain friendships in the same house than in other ones.  However, to Albus' immense and continuing surprise, the boy stayed friends with all three of them.  Severus has even just recently told him that they have started their own little 'club' of a sort.  He is unsure of where they meet, but they have managed to maintain their friendships as well as having added three additional members: the Weasley Twins and a young Ravenclaw by the name of Turpin.

Albus could not be happier.  Though he still was not very pleased with the fact that Harry was friends with the young Malfoy, the new additions to his group were not from Slytherin house at all, but rather a Ravenclaw and two Weasleys!  Weasleys were the Lightest family there was nowadays, all of the family having been sorted into Gryffindor (except of course young Mafalda, but she was a Prewett, not a Weasley), and Albus could not be prouder of young Harry Potter.  Who knows, perhaps Harry will be able to bring young Mr. Malfoy to the Light.  What an achievement that would be!  Not to mention all of the power and influence that would give the Light.  He had never heard the name 'Turpin' before, but he intended to find out more about her as well.  Perhaps she was another muggleborn, that would be excellent.

Severus had also informed him that during the boy's first flying lesson he had saved young Mr. Longbottom from falling off of a broom that was up twenty feet in the air, but he had been punished for it by the teacher.  He was very pleased with Harry's act of selfless bravery, though not very happy that the boy had been reprimanded for it.  That was exactly what he wanted from him!  He wanted him to save others with no concern for himself, and if he was punished and reprimanded for it, then he would likely stop such behaviour.  However, he could not simply undermine the actions and words of another teacher.  

He told Severus to tell him immediately the next time the boy acts so recklessly so that he may attend to him properly.  What he did not tell Severus was that he wanted to be told so that he could reward the boy for whatever impulsive or brave behaviour he is showing to keep him doing it before a teacher reprimanded him for it.  It would be much easier if he was in Gryffindor...  The boy would be encouraged by all those around him to continue acting as such, but in Slytherin, he wouldn't be.  In fact, he would be extremely discouraged.

The latest report that Severus had brought him concerning the boy had told him just that, though he was disappointed to hear that Severus had already reprimanded the boy for his actions.  The boy had apparently recklessly jumped between his Potions Professor and the Cerebus, the boy had not been hurt thankfully, but it was certainly the kind of reckless bravery that he wanted to encourage.  What had surprised him greatly was when Severus had told him that the Malfoy boy had come with him to follow Severus when he saw him sneaking off.  Perhaps there was hope for young Mr. Malfoy after all.  He was very pleased to hear that Harry was attempting to discover what was hidden under the trap door.  

Perhaps Harry being sorted into Slytherin was not such a bad thing after all.  His plans certainly seemed to be running quite smoothly.  However, it worried him that the boy had celebrated Samhain, that was the darkest holiday in the magical calendar, and what would he do if Harry went Dark..?  He shook the thoughts away.  Severus had assured him that he did not think that the children were doing anything Dark, they had come to him for all of their supplies and the closest thing to being Dark that he had given them was his burning bowl.  They had assured him that they only wanted to use it to burn their weaknesses, not blood or bone or anything like that.  Albus smiled as he pulled apart two sherbet lemons and offered one to Severus.

“Albus, I don't believe you understand the gravity of the issue at hand.  And no, I do not want a sherbet lemon.”

“What issue is that, Severus?” he asked as he popped the candy into his mouth.

“The issue of a member of our staff creating a dangerous diversion in order to attempt to get through the trapdoor.  Said staff member then proceeded to lock me in that corridor with Hagrid's mangy mutt and nearly got myself and two young first years killed!”

“Oh, don't you think you're over-exaggerating the matter, Severus?” he asked pleasantly, “He said that he was only curious about what could be guarding it, that's no reason to assume–”

“Over-exaggerating ?!” Severus demanded, “The man attempted to kill me!”

“Quirinus has told me himself that the door seemed to have shut of its own accord, he even let me into his mind and showed me the memory of the incident, which I was not expecting from such a nervous man.  He did not touch the door, Severus.”

“Have you forgotten that the man is a wizard, Albus?  He does not need to touch a door to shut it!  Besides that, there is still the matter of him creating a diversion for the rest of us while he attempted to get past the Cerebus.  You and I both know that the troll belonged to him!”

“Severus, Severus, must you always be so dramatic?” he chuckled, “Perhaps he simply lost control of the troll, it's not as far-fetched as you seem to believe it to be, Severus.  Especially considering the nature of the troll as well as the nature of the man in question.  And you said so yourself that Quirinus was not attempting to get passed the Cerebus, he merely wanted to look at it.  As a fellow scholarly man, I can understand his curiosity.  Not every act of discovery must lead to an action, Severus, that is a very Slytherin way of thinking.  Sometimes discovery is all that a person wishes.  Have I told you of the time I nearly succeeded in creating a Philosopher's Stone myself?”

“Yes, Albus, you have–”

“I had absolutely no need or want for such a thing, and yet I attempted to create one of the most powerful objects in the world.  Just to see if I could; just for the challenge of creating such an object.  That is a concept that a Slytherin such as yourself could possibly never understand, the concept of doing something without a true purpose must seem foolish to you, Severus.  But I myself can understand why young Quirinus would be fascinated.”

“Albus, you cannot tell me that you actually believe him?!” Severus asked, flabbergasted.

“I have been given no reason to doubt him, Severus.” the man looked like he was about the retort something else, but Albus interrupted him before he could, “Thank you Severus for your report.  I will be sure to keep an eye on Quirinus if it will ease your mind, but that is all I can do.  He has yet to actually do anything that can be considered wrong.  Even if he did attempt the things that you are claiming, he succeed in neither getting passed the Cerebus, nor killing you or the children.  If that is all from your report, then I would like to wish you a good night.”

Severus knew when he was being dismissed.  He was angry and frustrated, but he knew better than to let it show.  He dramatically turned around and stalked out the door.  He couldn't believe that the Headmaster actually believed the word of such a greedy, brainless twit like Quirrell.  Albus obviously wasn't going to do anything to stop him, so once again, it was all up to him.

Albus sighed when Severus left his study, he did not like lying to him, but he knew that the man would never understand the truth.  Not at this point anyway.  People who hadn't lived as long as him tended to be unable to accept what must be done until it was left as their only option.  But Albus had lived for over a hundred years.  He knew what must be done, and if he had to lie to those around him in order to save their lives and the lives of the ones that they love, then so be it.  This was war, and he could not be thinking about the feelings of others if he wanted his side to win and people to survive.  It may seem cruel, yes, but what would be crueler would be to do nothing and leave them all to their own devices, like he had done the last time.  

What would be crueler, would be to care more about their feelings than their lives and coddle them so much that they don't stand a chance of defending themselves.  This was war and Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore would do anything to save the people of the Wizarding World from the mistake that was Tom Marvolo Riddle.  And if Harry James Potter had to be the instrument through which he would save them, if he had to be the perfectly molded weapon that he must yield, and if necessary, throw away...

Then so be it.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoyed this chapter :) I didn't think it would be right to follow such an epic chapter as the last with just a simple normal chapter, so I have given you some background on Dumbledore. Most of this is taken from canon, not all of it, but most. Albus and Gellert DID spend two months together the summer after Dumbledore graduated from Hogwarts, they DID makes plans together which Gellert would then use and Albus would later disagree with greatly. Albus' sister DID die and that was what caused Gellert to leave. Albus' brother DID break his nose at their sister's funeral. Albus WAS in love with Gellert and he didn't actually kill him, instead he locked him up in Nurmengard, his own prison and he was there in canon until Voldemort showed up and killed him.
> 
> I only changed a few select things, such as Gellert and Albus' relationship existing. It is never said for sure in canon if they were ever involved, and J.K. had so far led us to believe that it was entirely one-sided and not reciprocated. I also invented the whole Nicolas Flamel debacle, but I figured there had to be SOME interesting reason why Dumbledore is friends with a man 6 times his age who prefers to live in seclusion. Also it is canon that they worked together, so that had to have happened at some point. Also, I didn't think it right to let Albus and Gellert's relationship only have lasted 2 months. That's just too sad. So Albus ran back to him and joined him in accomplishing the plans they had come up with together. Then Albus got cold feet and ran, which made Gellert lose any small amount of sanity he had.
> 
> I also invented the bit about Albus being a recovering addict to Dark Magic, and Dark Magic being addictive in the first place. As I see it, there's no way that many people are just naturally sadistic and enjoy torture as it seems that every single Death Eater does. At least some of them must have been repulsed by it and only did it because it was a necessity -- that is, unless the act of casting a Dark Spell feels really, really good and is addictive. It's not that all Death Eaters are Sadists, they're all just practically drug addicts looking for their next fix. Although some are sadists as well, from either before or (mostly) after using Dark Magic. Albus' addiction to Dark Magic also explains why he is so firmly against its usage.
> 
> I hope that you enjoyed reading about Dumbledore's past. He is still not a very good man and he is most certainly Harry's enemy, but he is not entirely evil and he has his reasons for being how he is, as everyone does. As Sirius Black said "The world is not split into good people and Death Eaters, we've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." No man or woman in this story is entirely evil, nor are they entirely good. We live in a world of grey, and so does Harry. And In Another Life, Harry will discover that and not just believe the complete bull the Light side spews about good and evil.
> 
> Please leave a comment bellow if you have any comments or questions, I would be happy to answer them :)


	20. Quidditch, Rock Cakes and Harry's First Yule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vernon killed Harry, he met his mother and Marvolo, who taught him the basics of wandless magic among other things, but now he is not talking to him because Harry has become too attached to him and that makes him uncomfortable. Harry is friends with Draco, Hermione, Neville, Fred and George Weasley, and Lisa Turpin; a shy, mysterious Ravenclaw girl who is Hermione's roommate and doesn't have any other friends. The other Slytherins don't like Harry and generally avoid him. People wonder if Harry will go dark, Ron Weasley hates him and Harry has just recently decided that he wants to get Marvolo a body in order to make him happy, even if it means that he disposes of Harry afterwards. Harry and his friends hang out in an empty classroom that they call the Study Room. During the Troll incident on Halloween, Harry and Draco followed Snape and witnessed the argument between Snape and Quirrell which resulted in Snape being mysteriously locked in with the Cerebus. Harry jumped in the way, got bit and ended up revealing part of his past. The Study Group Celebrated Samhain for the first time and Harry's friends have begun to see Harry as more than just a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.Rowling
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of child abuse, neglect, prejudice and transgender individuals. 
> 
> Things to know: "This is regular talking." _This is thoughts and written words. ~This is Marvolo talking.~ ___

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold.  The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel.  Every morning the ground was covered in frost, but what was most exciting about November was that the Quidditch season had begun.  

Harry had never seen a game of Quidditch before, but after hearing Draco and the Twins go on about it for the last two months, he was really looking forward to finally seeing what they’ve been talking about.  The first match would take place on Saturday November the ninth; Slytherin versus Gryffindor.  

The morning of the game dawned very bright and cold.  The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.  Draco was especially excited, though it was mixed with some grumblings from not being able to try out for the team himself.  He'd written his father about it many weeks prior but his father had told him that he would have to wait until the next year to try out; although he said that when he did that he would ensure that Draco was chosen.  

As Harry, Draco, Hermione, Neville and Lisa made their way towards the stands together, Draco was telling Harry that there was absolutely no way that Slytherin wouldn't win.  Apparently Gryffindor's seeker (who hadn't been very good in the first place) had graduated the year before and their new seeker, a fifth year named Melvin Renwick, was even worse than the old one was.

Harry wasn't really sure who he wanted to win.  On the one hand, he wanted Slytherin to win because that was his house and Draco would certainly be happy if they did.  On the other hand though, Fred and George were beaters on the Gryffindor team, and he knew that they would be disappointed if they lost.  Well, he supposed that he would just watch and whoever won, he would be happy about it.  But Harry kind of hoped that Slytherin would win just so that he wouldn't have to hear Draco moping and complaining about it for the next week and a half.  He knew that the Twins likely wouldn't do that, or at the very least not so incessantly or for so long.

The stupid bird-woman, Madam Hooch would be refereeing the game.  She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.  She said a few things to the players, all the while glaring at the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint.  

The older boy looked oddly similar to a troll, but that was no reason for her to be glaring at him.  Harry had seen first hand Hooch's prejudices against Slytherins and he only hoped that it wouldn't interfere with the game.  

Then, as Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle, fifteen brooms rose up high in the air and they were off.  Harry soon discovered that Quidditch was just as amazing as his friends had described, if not even better!

“And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor – what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive too–”

“JORDAN!”

“Sorry, Professor.” The Twins’ friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, and his commentary throughout the game seemed to make the match even more entertaining than it already was.  But he was being watched very closely by Professor McGonagall, who apparently did not approve of his brand of comedy. 

“And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve – back to Johnson and – no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes – Flint flying like an eagle up there – he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle –! 

“That's Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and – OUCH – that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger – Quaffle taken by the Slytherins – that's Adrian Pucey speeding off towards the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger – sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which – 

“Nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes – she's really flying – dodging a speeding Bludger – the goal posts are ahead – come on, now, Angelina – Keeper Bletchley dives – misses – GRYFFINDORS SCORE!”

Gryffindor cheers filled the air, with howls and groans from the Slytherins; including Draco.  

Harry, Neville and the two Ravenclaws applauded the excellent moves of the Gryffindors, the other three were also pretty neutral about who they wanted to win.  Neville and Hermione weren't really too fond of Quidditch or flying in general (especially Neville, who hadn't improved very much since their first flying lesson, and the lessons were now, thankfully, over), but they would support the Twins and their best friend's house.  Considering the fact that those were opposites, that made them rather neutral about the whole thing.

Harry wasn't entirely sure what Lisa thought of flying or Quidditch at all, but he figured that she was just joining in with Hermione in being neutral.

Harry was completely enraptured as the game went on, he could really see why Draco and the Twins loved it so much.  He didn't care who won, but seeing the Quaffle passed from person to person with practiced ease, seeing the Beaters hitting the Bludgers dangerously towards the other team, seeing the Keepers (sometimes) flawlessly stop the Quaffle from entering the hoops, the continuous search of the Seekers for the Golden Snitch, it was absolutely mesmerizing and exhilarating.  

Watching them made Harry wish that he was up in the air with them.  He found himself daydreaming at various points during the match, imagining himself flying and swerving away from the Bludgers.  He especially loved the idea of being a Seeker or a Keeper.  Sure, they weren't the ones with all of the action like the Beaters and Chasers, but something about their quick reflexes and maneuverability  (although he had to admit, the Gryffindor Seeker wasn’t showing too much of either) just appealed to him a lot more.

“I am definitely trying out for Quidditch next year...” Harry said aloud just as Adrian Pucey of Slytherin scored.  Draco pouted at him,

“But _ I _ want to try out...” he said in such a childish voice that Harry couldn't help but snort.  He almost laughed at the blond's incredibly offended face, but instead he said,

“I know, we should both try out.  Whoever gets picked, gets picked.  Who knows, maybe we'll _ both _ get on the team.” Draco grinned at that, yet another thing that he could do with Harry!  And this time it would be away from all of those idiots Harry called friends.  Yes, he would definitely like that.

Slytherin was ahead 90 to 60 when Terence Higgs, the Slytherin Seeker, caught the Snitch.  

Harry cheered loudly along with the rest of the Slytherins.  The Snitch had actually been right next to Melvin Renwick for a good five minutes before Higgs had swooped in and caught it, right next to his ear.  Draco was right, he really was terrible.  

After the match, in the Study Room, Harry offered his condolences to the Twins for their lost match.  They shrugged it off, but Harry could tell that they were pretty upset about it.

“Wood's furious with Renwick.” Fred said.

“Yeah,” continued George, “He had the Snitch practically in his ear for five minutes!”

“We told Wood not to let him on, but the thing is–”

“There wasn't anyone who was any better!”

“The Gryffindor team's just been going downhill since Charlie left…”

“We saw a few of his games before we started school, they let the families watch.  He was brilliant.  He seriously could have gone pro.” 

Fred snorted, “Yeah, he could’ve, but instead he went after the love of his life.” when Harry enquired as to who that was, the Twins replied together,

“Dragons.”

*

A few days later, a barn owl flew to Harry during breakfast and dropped something in front of him.  This was very strange because Harry had never gotten any mail before (not including his Hogwarts letter of course).  Who would write to him?  He saw his friends everyday and his 'family' hated him.  Curious, he opened it.

_ Dear Harry, _

_ I know you don't know me, but I knew you when you was a baby, and I knew your parents.  I was just wondering if you might want to come by and have a cup of tea with me around four?  You don't have to of course, but I'd like to get to know you.  Sorry if this is a bit odd.  You can bring your friends too, if you want.  Just send a reply back with the owl, it's alright if it's a no. _

_ Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts Gamekeeper _

The Gamekeeper wanted to have tea with him?  That was more than a little bit odd...  Or a lot odd.  But, he said that he'd known his parents...  There was really no harm in just coming by for tea, was there?  Plus he said that he could bring his friends.  

In the end Hermione and Neville said that they'd love to come, but Draco said that there was no way that he would ever set foot in the man's poor excuse for a hut.  Fred and George had smiled at him mischievously before saying that they had plans with Lee (likely pranking some poor soul), and Lisa had apparently told Hermione that she didn't think she'd be very good company for tea.  Harry sent back a reply, letting the man know that he would be coming and that he wanted to bring two of his friends along.

At five to four, the three of them left the castle and made their way across the grounds.  Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest.  Hermione remarked that it was terribly small, especially considering the size of man that he was, and she hoped that he wasn't being forced to live out here; there was plenty of room in the school afterall.  

A crossbow and a pair of giant furry boots were outside the front door.  When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrambling from inside and several booming barks.  Then the Gamekeeper's voice rang out saying,

“Back, Fang – back.” The man's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. “Hang on,” he said, “ _ Back _ , Fang!” He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.  There was only one room inside the hut.  Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.  Neville looked around the place nervously while Hermione surveyed it drearily but said nothing, not wanting to seem rude, after all this was the man’s home.  

“Make yerselves at home, you can leave yer coats over there.” the large man said, pointing to a small hook on the wall, then he let go of Fang, who bounded straight at Neville and started licking his ears.  Neville shrieked and tensed for a bit until he realized the dog wasn't going to hurt him, then he chuckled nervously and pet its head.

“This is Neville, and this is Hermione.” Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.  

Hagrid looked up at them and said to Neville, “Yer Frank and Alice's kid, aren't ya?” Neville nodded shyly, “Thought so.  I knew them, ya know?  An' you look jus' like yer mum, chubby cheeks an' all, jus' like when she was little.” Neville blushed.  “An' you mus' be that muggleborn that Flitwick goes on abou' all the time.” Hagrid said, turning to Hermione, “Says yer one o' the brigh'est young witches 'e's ever met!” Hermine smiled widely at the ground.  Harry had to admit, so far he was really liking Hagrid.

“An' 'ere's Harry!” he said, finally turning to him, “Las' time I saw you, you was on’y a baby.  Now though, now yer the spittin' image o' yer dad.  But yeh've got yer mum's eyes.”

“Really?!” Harry asked, he knew that he had his mum's eyes, because he'd met her, but he'd never met his dad, never even see a picture of him.  He'd heard a little bit about him a couple of times from McGonagall, but she had never told him what he'd looked like.

“Yep.” Hagrid said with a crinkly smile, “Oh, but' I 'aven't properly introduced meself yet.  Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.  But you all already know that.” Harry smiled as the giant man shook his whole arm, then turned to the other two and did the same.  Yes, he really did like Hagrid.

Hagrid offered them tea and rock cakes, the tea wasn't so bad, but the rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth.  Hermione politely pretended to eat hers while hiding it away in her robes, Harry and Neville followed suit.  

Hagrid had been at the school for a _ very _ long time.  He'd even known Neville's grandfather Trevor and his sister Angie.  Harry was a bit confused, he knew that Neville's grandfather had a brother named Algie, but he'd never heard of a sister.  

Neville had then explained to him that they were one and the same.  A witch or wizard can choose to permanently change their sex through the use of a potion, though it was excruciatingly painful.  But sometimes a person felt like they were born into the wrong body, so to them it was worth it.  

It was a bit of an odd conversation as Harry had never heard of anything like that before, but once it was completely explained to him (mostly because of Hermione's constant questions) he thought of how weird it must feel to be in the wrong body.  He imagined what it would be like if he had _ girl parts _ , he shivered at the thought.  He was glad that there were potions to help those people, even if it was really painful.  

Hagrid remarked that there was always something a little odd about Angie, so he wasn't surprised, but he hadn't heard about the her switch to become a him before this.

The conversation had then turned to Harry's parents (much to Harry’s delight).  Hagrid said that it was kind of funny that Harry was friends with people from other houses, as Harry's mother had been as well.  He told them that she was always a very sweet witch who was friendly with everyone, no matter what house they were from; even the Slytherins who weren't really the friendliest sort.  Then he'd remembered that Harry was a Slytherin and apologized, Harry just laughed it off.  

He told Harry that even though he looked like his dad, he really was a lot more like his mum, Harry blushed when he said that.  His mum was truly the kindest woman he'd ever met (though maybe he was a bit biased considering that she was his mum and he'd only met her once) and to be compared to her made him feel all fluttery inside.

When it came time for the first years to leave, Harry was honestly sad to go.  Hagrid turned out to be a really nice person, he might look big and intimidating, but he was actually very kind and his magic, while quite below average, was very soothing.  Not only that, but he was a connection to his parents, something which he had only ever had with McGonagall before.  But while he’d felt a bit weird asking McGonagall about his parents, Hagrid was really friendly and approachable.  

However, it was almost curfew and they needed to go.  Hagrid gave them all bone crushing hugs that left them quite wobbly when he let go and sent them on their way.  Even though Draco didn't like it and thought that he was completely mental for it, Harry started visiting Hagrid quite a bit, sometimes with his friends, sometimes without, and he really did enjoy the visits.  

*

November soon turned into December and the Yule Holiday (or Christmas Holiday to the majority of the school) was quickly approaching.  The Hogwarts grounds were now covered in several feet of snow and the teachers had already taken down the names of those who would be staying.  

Of the Study Group only Harry (for obvious reasons) and the Twins (because their parents had decided to visit their brother Charlie in Romania) would be staying.  Draco, Neville and Hermione had apologized profusely for leaving and all three of them had offered to invite Harry over, but he had declined all of them.  He hadn't met any of their families before, and he really didn't want to intrude on them during the holidays.  

Harry had never really gotten the chance to celebrate Christmas or _ Yule _ , but he knew that it was a time for family.  That's what the Dursleys always told him.  It was during this time of year more than any other that he felt like he didn't belong.  

While the Dursleys were all unwrapping presents and eating outrageous amounts of Christmas sweets, Harry would be locked up in his cupboard, all alone.  The only company with which to celebrate the holidays being his rock and stick friends.  While locked up in his cupboard he used to pretend that he was having Christmas with his friends and family.  Sometimes he even made little gifts for them all to give each other.  

Harry couldn’t remember a single Christmas he hadn’t spent locked in his cupboard, pretending he had people who cared about him and crying silently to himself while he listened to his relatives enjoying the holiday.  Although he supposed now that he must have spent at least one Christmas with his parents, but he couldn’t remember that.  

Over the years Christmas had become become something he quite hated.  It was even worse than his birthday, because at least he could pretend that his birthday was just like any other day.  However, it was clear that Christmas was a special day, and that he just wasn’t a part of it.  It was the day of the year that made him feel the most unloved and alone… but maybe Yule would be different. 

Marvolo had stayed true to his word on Halloween, he now talked to Harry even less than he had during their first month together.  Sometimes he would pipe up with one sentence or even one word statements if Harry was wondering something interesting or if he was stumped about a question in class.  

Harry hated the fact that he felt so distant from Marvolo, even though he was inside of his own head, but there was nothing that he could do about it.  He couldn't force Marvolo to talk to him anymore than he could force him to like living in his head.  

He knew that it was all his own fault though, he shouldn't have questioned Marvolo like he had on Halloween.  Marvolo had a right to however much privacy he could get while living in Harry’s head; he didn’t have to tell him everything.  Marvolo was right, Harry  _ had _ deluded himself.  He had convinced himself that they were friends even though Marvolo had made it abundantly clear in the beginning that they weren’t.   All Marvolo had done was rid him of his childish delusions, that was probably supposed to be a good thing in someway, though Harry didn't see what was so good about it.  

Harry missed the man dearly, but he knew better than to call out to him, if Marvolo wanted to talk to him, then he would.  Besides, Harry didn't want to interrupt whatever it was that the man did in his head all the time.  Harry had concluded that he definitely must be doing _ something _ , but it was none of his business.  Marvolo was a grown man and he deserved his privacy.

Harry’s quest to get a new body for Marvolo wasn’t going very well at all.  He had kept that desire hidden from Marvolo, not wanting to be discouraged or told that it was impossible or that he was being stupid.  He had scoured the library in his free time and read every single book he could think of that  _ might  _ help at all, but Harry didn’t even know what he was looking for!  Almost two months and he still didn’t even know where to start...

On the 23 rd of December, Fred and George were magically throwing snowballs at Quirrell's turban once again (even though they had gotten detention for it the last time) when it was time to say goodbye to the other four members of the Study Group.  With one last slightly bigger snowball at the man's head, this time knocking him to the ground, the Twins ran over to wish their little firstie friends farewell.  

Draco and Hermione simultaneously offered to bring Harry home with them again.  They glared at each other, and though Harry was touched and a big part of him really did want to go, he declined them both.  When Hermione, Draco, Neville and Lisa had boarded the train, George turned to him and said,

“Don't worry Harry, you've still got us!” Harry smiled wryly at them.

“I know, thanks George.” the Twins looked at each other and then Harry in surprise; how had he known which one of them had spoken?  But they said nothing.  

*

The last two days before Yule passed by slowly.  The Study Room seemed very empty with only himself and the Twins in it.  Far too quiet without Hermione and Draco's constant bickering.  Far too relaxed without Neville's occasional (but getting much better) stutter and Lisa's awkward silences.  The chairs and couches weren't filled like they usually were.  There was no Draco to be overprotective of his claim on him, making sure to always sit next to him no matter what.  

There was no Hermione to pipe up with some new interesting fact or harp on them to get something done.  There was no Neville to smile meekly and speak more through warm looks and worried glances than words, occasionally bringing up facts about Herbology that even _ Hermione _ didn't know.  There was no Lisa for Fred and George to tease about being so short, to sit so quietly that she almost wasn't there, to fall asleep quite randomly at any given moment, to hang off of Hermione's every word.  Of course, there was no Hermione either.

There was no one for the Twins to tease, besides Harry of course, but he didn't react nearly as wonderfully as Lisa or Neville who would blush profusely or Draco who would whine and complain.  But even still, it was only two days, two rather uneventful days, but time seemed to move achingly slowly without the usual antics of their full group.  

Not that it had been entirely boring of course, the Twins had taken him with them and their friend Lee Jordan to set up a prank in the Hallway in front of the Great Hall.  There weren't that many people left in the school, but it was fun all the same to watch them slip and slide on an unseen slippery substance on the floor.  

The funniest thing was that the three third years made it so that they couldn't even fall down.  They would just keep slipping and sliding until they somehow managed to escape the effects of the spell and get into the Great Hall.  It looked a bit like they were skating, but with hilarious looks on their faces.  Ron Weasley's face was the absolute best, especially when Fred decided to cancel the spell just to watch his younger brother fall on his arse.  When he'd stopped slipping and sliding, he had given Harry a dark glare, not even looking at the older boys, and then attempted to escape into the Great Hall – only for him to start slipping again of course.

On the 25 th , Harry awoke to the worried faces of the Weasley Twins.  Dread filled him as he realized that he had accidentally fallen asleep in the Study Room and hadn't put up an insulating bubble of silence...  Last night's nightmare had been about Vernon's sister Marge, she was just as big and beefy as her brother, she even had a small moustache, and had a rather large fondness for dogs.  In his dream, Marge had been chasing him with the Cerebus on a leash before letting go and letting it attack him while she laughed.  There had been a lot of screaming in that dream...

“Are you alright, Harry?” George asked him, worry coming off of both of them in palpable waves.  

“You were screaming and thrashing in your sleep...” Fred said.

“Y-yeah.” Harry said, his voice raspy and his throat raw from screaming. “Just a nightmare, it's no big deal.” the Twins eyed him suspiciously.

“What was it about?” Fred asked.

“I-I don't really remember now.  But honestly guys, it's not a big deal.  It was just a nightmare.” they still looked suspicious, but let it go.  

Harry stood up, still feeling shaky, to find presents underneath their evergreen.  They hadn't felt it right to completely celebrate Yule without the other four, but they had still asked Hagrid for a small evergreen tree to set up in the Study Room.  

“Presents!” the Twins said together and Harry smiled a little wryly as he shifted from foot to foot, not entirely sure what to do.  When they noticed his hesitation, Fred waved a hand to call him over and George said,

“You've got some too, Harry.”

“I've got presents?!” Harry asked in disbelief.  The Twins narrowed their eyes and Fred said,

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Harry wasn't necessarily against telling the Twins about the Dursleys, he had told Draco and Snape after all, but it was just really embarrassing and kind of depressing.  He didn't want to ruin their Yule by bringing it up, so he just shrugged and rushed forward to sit between them.  He almost didn't believe it until he saw the first present with his name on it.  He felt the most wonderful rush of feelings at seeing it, followed by regret.

“But...  I didn't get anything for anyone...”

“That's alright!” said Geroge,

“Yeah, no one's going to be expecting it.  How would you have gotten anything?”

“That's true...” Harry said, the first years weren't able to go to Hogsmeade like the third years were and he knew of no other way to get anyone anything.  

He picked up the top parcel, still feeling kind of bad.  It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was _ To Harry, from Hagrid _ .  Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute, Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself.  Harry blew it – it sounded a bit like an owl.  From Draco, he got a book on magical traditions and customs and an assortment of magical sweets.  

From Hermione he had gotten a large box of Chocolate Frogs (he had to wonder when she had gotten them, she had gone back to the muggle world, hadn't she?), from Neville he had gotten a magical plant whose stems could be used to make an ointment to heal and numb small cuts and burns and whose leaves could apparently be made into a lovely tea that was extremely healthy.

From Lisa he had gotten a moving hand-drawn picture like she had given to Hermione on her card, only this one had the little cartoon version of him riding a broomstick and playing Quidditch against Draco and the Twins while the rest of the group cheered in the stands below.  From the Twins, he had gotten a whole pack of stuff from Zonko's joke shop.  He then he picked up a rather lumpy parcel.

“Hey, look!  Harry's got a Weasley sweater too!” said Fred.

“A what?” Harry asked as he tore open the wrapping to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.  

“Every year our Mum makes everyone in the family a sweater.” George said, “Mine and Fred's are always blue and yellow.”

“Bit weird she made one for you though.” Fred remarked as he pulled his own Weasley sweater on.

“Well she did take quite a liking to him in Diagon.”

“True...” said Fred.  Harry smiled at the thought as he pulled the green sweater over his head.

“Hey, he hasn't got a letter on his.” George observed.

“I suppose she thinks he won't forget his name.” Fred suggested, “But we're not stupid, we know we're called Gred and Forge.” Harry laughed as he turned back to his presents.  There was only one parcel left; Harry picked it up, it was very light.  He unwrapped it and something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds.  The Twins both gasped before eyeing the cloth mischievously.

“Is that –” said Fred,

“–what we think it is?” continued George.   

“What is it?” Harry asked, picking up the shining, silvery cloth off the floor.  It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.

“It's...” started Fred, but he seemed almost at a loss for words.

“An invisibility cloak...” George continued for his brother, though he sounded just as awe-struck.

“Try it on, Harry!” Fred insisted.  Harry shrugged and did just that, he threw the cloak around his shoulders and the Twins gave a simultaneous,

“It is!” Harry looked down at his feet to find that he _ had _ no feet.  He held out his arm underneath the cloak, and even though he _ knew _ that his arm was there, it was nowhere in sight!  Marvolo's cold, cruel laughter filled his mind and Harry smiled.  He had really missed that sound.

_ ~Well this is interesting...~ _

“Harry, you _ have _ to let us borrow that sometimes.” Fred said with a mischievous smile.  

“Sure.” Harry said, still looking down at himself, utterly mesmerized, and really happy that receiving the cloak seemed to please Marvolo.

“A note fell out of it!” George said and Harry pulled off the cloak and handing it to the Twins who stared at it in awe, and then grabbed the letter.  Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words:

_ Your father left this in my possession before he died.  It is time that it was returned to you.  Use it well. _

_ A Very Merry Christmas to you. _

There was no signature, but Harry suddenly felt a hot anger in his mind that wasn't his own.

_ ~I would recognize that old fool's handwriting anywhere.  What is that manipulative old man planning now?~ _ There was only one person that Marvolo referred to like that, meaning that this cloak had been given to him by Albus Dumbledore.  But at the moment, Harry just couldn't bring himself to care.  

This had once belonged to his father..?  He'd never seen anything that belonged to his parents before, never mind touched it...  He felt warm inside knowing that.  He felt a sudden need to snatch the amazing fabric from the Twins and hide it where no one would ever see it and it would be only his.  But he wouldn't do that.  He could only imagine how useful an object like that could be, so he would let them use it sometimes.

“What's it say, Harry?” Fred asked him as George wrapped the cloak around his middle, creating empty space between his legs and chest.

“I-it says that this used to be my dad's...” his voice cracked a little on the end.  He hadn't meant it to, but it did.  The Twins looked at each other and nodded before they both engulfed him in a tight hug.

“You know,” said Geroge into his hair, “We really don't have to borrow the cloak, it was your dad's so...”

“No, no, it's alright.” Harry said, “I want to you to use it.  According to McGonagall my dad was apparently quite the prankster when he was in school.  I think that he would be... happy to see someone else using the cloak for pranks like he probably did.” the Twins smiled at him and thanked him profusely.  Harry was really glad that he had them here to spend Yule with him.

_ Happy Yule. _ Harry thought to Marvolo.  He didn't get an answer, but that was okay.  He knew that he had heard it.  The rest of Yule was quite cheerful, even though Ron Weasley had glared at him all through dinner because they'd had to sit at the same table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so it's been a VERY long time since I've updated. Like, SUPER long... I checked the date of the last time I update and I actually haven't posted a new chapter since December of 2015. Wow... I don't really know what to say, besides sorry for making everyone wait so long. However, despite my absence I've still received comments and Kudos galore, so thank you so much for that :) I realize now that this particular chapter would have done much better being posted during Christmas time or even just winter, since it is about Harry's first Yule (at least the end part).
> 
> I really appreciate your patience and continued interest in this story, and I hope that I'll be updating regularly again, but I say that every time and it never really ends up happening... The only excuse I can really give is that I'm in my last year of High School and I'll be going to College this September and all of that stuff has just been stressing me out a lot and I haven't really had the time or (most of all) motivation for this story. So thank you so much for being patient with me and not giving up on me and this story :)
> 
> So, I know that this chapter wasn't nearly as thrilling as the last two, but it was unavoidable. Not every chapter can be super awesome and epic unfortunately. Nevertheless, I hope that you liked this chapter, and if you do or you like this story in general then please hit that Kudos button if you haven't already. And whether you liked it or you didn't and have any questions, comments or criticisms, I would love to hear them in the comments section below :)
> 
> The next chapter is going to be called 'The Mirror of Erised'. It's going to have a little bit of Marvolo's intentions, a little bit of Ron being a prick, and a little bit of the secret desires of the Study Group, so I hope you'll look forward to it and hopefully I will be posting it soon :)

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this chapter, then please leave a comment below and give Kudos :) Also, I'd just like to give a warning that this is going a be a rather long fic, possibly as long as my other fanfiction HPFFX, but I'm not quite sure yet, but it will be quite long.  
> But please leave a comment below telling me what you think, I'd really love to hear what people think :)


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